Last-minute changes revealed to Wellington mayor's once-a-term plan

Wednesday, 19 June 2024

A leaked document days out from Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s once-a-term plan reveals the last-minute changes ahead of her term-defining vote.

Council’s are legally obliged to deliver a long-term plan once a triennium and this one was always going to be a tough ask: The right hated the 18% effective rates hike, many on the left disliked the Wellington City Council selling its 34% stake in Wellington Airport, and all were frustrated by the decades of under-investment in pipes leading to huge money now being needed to fix them.

A leaked document, titled “mayor’s proposed amendments”, sent to councillors days before the late-May vote on the plan – which will be voted on finally on June 27 – shows the changes proposed in the final days.

They include changes that Unions Wellington spokesperson Ashok Jacob said were concessions made from Whanau as a tight vote on selling the council’s airport shares loomed. Unions Wellington opposes the airport share sale.

Councillor Diane Calvert on Tuesday confirmed changes to how a new perpetual investment fund was managed helped get her and councillor Tony Randle to vote for the sale in late-May. Just one of them voting for keeping the shares would have stopped it.

Whanau was asked if the changes were designed to get the airport share sale, which she strongly backed, over the line.

In a statement, she said: “These amendments were all included in my [main amendments to the long-term-plan] and were circulated and discussed with all councillors well in advance of the meeting after considering feedback and discussion from our community here in Pōneke.

“I’m pleased all were able to be included in the final long-term plan proposal.”

The changes meant Wellington NZ, which was to lose $1 million in funding, had $300,000 to $500,000 reinstated with the money taken from Te Papa. Capital Kiwi, a project to bring the national bird back to the capital, got $100,000 a year.

City safety projects got an extra $500,000 a year, while the slated-for-closure Khandallah Pool got a reprieve for a year to see if it was possible to fix it for $7.5m or less.

There was also money for the “degasification” of swimming pools, options for a daily cap on how much motorcycle riders could be charged to park in the city, and ditching planned suburban parking fees at a cost of $2m a year.

Finally there was the inclusion of protection for the perpetual investment fund, to be set up using the proceeds from the airport share sale, to make sure it was kept for recovery after a disaster. There was also a stipulation that the council kept $272m debt headroom.

Calvert said protecting the fund and keeping the $272m debt headroom swung her vote for the share sale. But she said she had since had confirmation from staff that the debt headroom could not be retained and she would now vote against the entire long-term plan when it came to council for the final tick on June 27.

She is among seven councillors – nearing a majority – looking to vote against the long-term plan on June 27.