Wellington movers, shakers, dames and knights, set goal for the capital

Friday, 25 October 2024

The three Dames of Wellington - Therese Walsh, Fran Wilde and Kerry Prendergast - are some of the main players in the new group, Vision Wellington.

Some of Wellington’s biggest movers and shakers have come together with a new vision to dig the city out of its slump.

Dames Kerry Prendergast, Patsy Reddy, Therese Walsh and Fran Wilde are in the 18-member group alongside The Post and Stuff owner Sinead Boucher, and business leaders Sir Bob Jones, Rob Morrison and Myles Gazley. Former Wellington City and current regional councillor Simon Woolf is the only working politician in the Vision for Wellington group.

While Vision for Wellington states it is politically neutral, the timing ahead of crucial body elections next year means they could have a major influence over the outcome, given the number of heavy hitters that have put their name to the group.

They include former New Zealand Symphony Orchestra chief executive Peter Biggs, Restaurant Association President and restaurateur Mike Egan, businessman Aaron Leech, former Wellington on a Plate boss Sarah Meikle, NZ Herald head of business Fran O’Sullivan, Institute of directors chief executive Kirsten Patterson, Forsyth Barr managing director and former Victoria University Chancellor Neil Paviour-Smith, tech entrepreneur Luke Pierson, and Wēta Workshop board director Phil Royal.

Businessman Sir Bob Jones is also on the list.

A document, supplied exclusively to The Post, said Wellingtonians were suffering a “crisis of confidence” brought about by the city council’s handling of finances, overspending, a lack of good leadership and “frustration at in-fighting and perceived ideology-fuelled decision-making at the expense of the needs and wishes of the city’s residents and ratepayers”.

The group has been working in the background for months, but were forced to show their hand early after inquiries by The Post in the wake of Local Government Minister Simeon Brown ordering an observer to oversee the council.

The Post and stuff owner Sinead Boucher is part of Vision for Wellington.

Brown intervened after ructions over the council selling its Wellington Airport shares, which has forced it to revisit its 10 year plan, and placed it under crushing financial pressure.

Three of the group’s members – Prendergast, Paviour-Smith, Pierson – told The Post they had no part in lobbying Brown for intervention.

In a statement, the group said the city had beautiful natural features, a diverse population, a creative heart, and compact geography.

“As New Zealand’s capital city we are at the centre of the big national discussions both literally and figuratively. But we have lost our shine and we are a little stuck,” it said.

“Infrastructure is outdated, businesses are closing and people are moving away. We need a boost. It’s time to do something about it.”

The group has launched a website to engage Wellingtonians in a debate about the city’s future, and says it will facilitate a series of expert led panels on innovation, arts and culture, small business, events and hospitality, economic growth, transport, infrastructure, civic leadership and distinctiveness.

It will also run digital and social media campaigns and polls, suggesting that there is also financial backing behind the group.

It has listed its five key principles as: building a city that people want to live in, migrate to and visit; ensuring Wellington is financially sustainable over the long term; to provide world class infrastructure around water, transport and accommodation; as well as foster innovation and growth.

Wilde this week said an observer would be “very positive” for Wellington but Walsh said Vision for Wellington was not a lobbying group.

“We have come together to support a positive future for Wellington and we are still forming up,” Walsh said.

“Our goal is to support a vision for Wellington and the council delivering it. It isn’t a lobbying group and we want to be part of a brighter future for Wellington.”

They saw it as similar to the Absolutely Positively Wellington brand, which became synonymous with the capital during a previous revival in the early 1990s but stressed that, for now, it was just about starting a conversation.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau welcomed the group.

“Past city leaders have contributed a lot to making Wellington a great place. However, it's important to recognise that cities are always changing,” she said.

Her council had a clear vision but executing that “also means dealing with the legacy of underinvestment in water and housing”.