Wellington Water boss Tonia Haskell resigns

Thursday, 8 August 2024

Workers at Wellington Water's pump stations deal with fatbergs and rag monsters - the nasty consequences of people flushing oil and wet wipes down their drains. (Video first published June 9, 2022)

Wellington Water boss Tonia Haskell has resigned, on the back of a series of blunders for the agency involving ongoing leaks, supply shortages, budget blowouts and questions about its culture.

A media release on Thursday said Friday would be her last day. Charles Barker, the acting GM Customer Operations Group, will be the interim boss.

In May, Wellington Water ‒ which runs water infrastructure on behalf of the region’s councils ‒ acknowledged it had made a $51 million blunder in its advice to councils.

An independent report last month was scathing of the culture within Wellington Water and its reluctance to acknowledge mistakes.

An earlier report looking at the way it handled problems with fluoride were also highly critical. Water leaks and water supply issues have been prevalent too.

Haskell joined Wellington Water as its Group Manager Network Development and Delivery in 2019. She has been in the chief executive role since early last year.

Wellington Water boss Tonia Haskell is standing down after a difficult few months.

Board chairperson Nick Leggett thanked Haskell for her hard work and leadership over the past five and a half years.

In her time at Wellington Water, the capital programme delivering water assets for the region had grown from $60m to $330m in the last financial year, he said.

Leggett said Haskell had to be admired for her willingness to discuss difficult issues and be up front about both challenges and solutions.

“Working for Wellington Water has been a privilege,” Haskell said. “The team at Wellington Water, its supplier whānau and partners are incredibly smart, hard-working and dedicated to improving water outcomes for the region. I am proud to have been part of that.

“During my time as chief executive we have delivered major projects such as the Omāroro Reservoir and the Kaitoke Flume bridge and delivered a record level of pipe renewals.”

She noted Wellington Water had navigated a long dry summer and had reduced the backlog of leaks for the first time in five years.

“With our operational performance now in good shape, now is a good time for me to move on, with the entity facing a different strategic future.”

Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy said that after the recent report, it was inevitable that Haskell would move on.

“It was very, very clear from the report that was done, that there had to be change. There were clearly structural and cultural issues that had to be addressed.”

Guppy, who has been a loud critic of Wellington Water, says that with the government announcing the creation of a new entity, it would be hard to find a short term replacement.

Leggett said that neither Wellington Water nor Haskell would be making any further comment.

The board will begin the process to appoint a new chief executive over the coming weeks.