Wellington Airport sale in jeopardy after ‘rebels’ switch sides

Monday, 22 July 2024

Nīkau Wi Neera talks about the importance of Wellington City Council not selling its shares in Wellington airport.

Three Wellington City Council “rebels” who voted for the city to sell its stake in the airport are now looking to vote against it in a move that could undermine the city’s budget and plans for the coming decade.

It is understood councillors Nicola Young, Diane Calvert, and Tony Randle — short of vote-changing developments in the meantime — will vote against the sale when it comes back to council in December.

They believe promises made about the council protecting the sale money for a perpetual investment fund and not breaching its debt limit turned from certain to iffy after they cast their votes for the sale in May.

The deal has already divided the council with Mayor Tory Whanau’s usual left-wing supporters the most-vocal opponents of the sale, which she backed. Whanau won the late-May vote eight votes to 10.

The Wellington City Council so-called 'rebel group' of Nicola Young, Diane Calvert, and Tony Randle now plan to vote against the sale of the council's 34% stake in the city's airport.

Part of the carrot to get the vote over the line was the promise that councillors would get to vote on the sale again in December. Having three switch sides means the majority now oppose the sale and mayor.

The sale of the council’s 34% stake in the airport was a major item in the council’s long-term plan.

The plan includes an effective 18.5% rates rises for residents this year, followed by years of large increases. It also includes renovating social housing, upgrading and repairing the city’s pipes, building bus and bike lanes, and rebuilding the central library and Town Hall.

Wellington City councillor Rebecca Matthews confirmed a no-sale would mean changes to the long-term plan.

Prior to the vote to sell, council staff warned councillors a no-sale could trigger a drop in the council’s credit rating and change the council’s position in the long-term plan so much that capital projects would have to go back to public consultation.

“Crikey,“ said Green councillor Nīkau Wi Neera on Sunday when he heard of the right-leaning group of Calvert, Young and Randle joining the mostly left in opposition.

“I sincerely hope council will be given a straight vote to see this democratic consensus is realised,” he said.

He, with other opponents, had tried to get councillors the option to vote in a long-term plan without the sale but this was blocked. But he did not believe a no-sale would derail the plan.

A Unions Wellington protest at the Wellington City Council meeting on the Long Term Plan, including the airport share sale issue.

“The core justification for the sale was the creation of a self-insurance fund. That aspect would have to be removed or funded differently, but the rest of the [plan] should be basically unaffected,” he said.

Councillor Rebecca Matthews, who chairs the committee shepherding the long-term plan in, said a no-sale vote could mean changes to the existing long-term plan “but we would need to work that through”.

Her deputy, accountant and councillor John Apanowicz, labelled Calvert, Young, and Randle a “rebel group” and said their reason for switching sides — protection of the sale money — was ill-informed.

Calvert confirmed she would not vote for the sale “based on the information as of today” because it would mean the council breaching its debt limit, based on planned spending, and information after the sale vote showed the funds were not protected.

“Trust and confidence in the council doing the right things with the funds is at an all-time low,” she said.

The sale was opposed by Unions Wellington. Group spokesperson Ashok Jacob said the new opposition was the result of Whanau courting the votes of the right-leaning Calvert, Randle, and Young and “sometimes you have to give them what they want”