Wellington City Council leaves 2024 with big calls made but others for the new year

Tuesday, 17 December 2024

Crowds spilled out around Parliament as a hikoi protesting David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill reached Wellington, with thousands of people making their voices heard loud and clear. Jenna Lynch reports.

The Wellington City Council has wound up for the year, with a big round of decisions but leaving some tough calls for the new year.

Now it means council staff will be sent away to re-investigate suburban parking charges, start negotiations to sell land, investigate selling its art collection, look for ways to keep next year’s rates increase to no more than 12.8% and setting up a disaster resilience fund.

Even the idea of selling the council’s airport shares is still being considered and will go out to public consultation despite a majority of councillors voting against the sale.

But with council staff now having to compile a lot of information by mid-February, which the council still has to debate then vote on, it means the draft amended long-term plan for the public to consult on is still months off.

Mayor Tory Whanau says the Principles of Treaty of Waitangi Bill threatens to undermine Aotearoa’s founding document.

The council also agreed on Tuesday to submit in opposition to Act’s Principles of Treaty of Waitangi Bill, a controversial piece of legislation aimed at changing the way Tiriti o Waitangi is dealt with. In November it sparked one of the biggest protests the capital has ever seen.

The legislation is doomed in any case with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying his party will not support it past its first reading.

Mayor Tory Whanau said the bill threatened to undermine Aotearoa’s founding document.

“It is our role as community leaders to share the views of those we represent,” she said.

Crown observer Lindsay McKenzie watches the Wellington City Council’s final meeting of 2024.

But the council opposition did not pass unanimously with councillor, and 2025 mayoral hopeful Ray Chung opposing it.

Wellington City councillor Ray Chung opposed the council submitting on the Principles of Treaty of Waitangi Bill.

“Too many city and district councils and unitary authorities engage in issues that are, in my opinion, beyond the role of council, which is to ensure a functioning city while ensuring financial probity and which allows commerce to operate and grow the local economy,” he said.

Calls of “shame” came from the public gallery as Chung gave his position to the council.

Some of the more than 40,000 people who took part in the hikoi.

Only Chung, Tony Randle, and Nicola Young voted against the submission.

The council meeting held today to amend its long-term plan was necessitated after it voted against selling its 34% stake in Wellington Airport, a decision so profound that it undermined the finances behind the council’s just adopted 10-year plan.

It was the need for that amendment that saw Local Government Minster Simeon Brown appoint a Crown observer to be his eyes and ears at the council.

Whanau in October pledged her council would form a new draft long-term plan by the year’s end. Today was the last meeting of 2024.