Making Wellington a safer place for a $40 million price tag

Tuesday, 4 March 2025

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Drug testing, a Local Alcohol Policy and changing homelessness tactics are part of the Wellington City Council’s detailed plan to improve city safety.

It comes as data shows the city feels ‒ and is ‒ less safe than before the $7.7 million Pōneke Promise was launched in May 2021.

The $40m City Safety and Wellbeing Plan is going to council this Thursday, and council papers say it “draws on both the successes and the lessons from Pōneke Promise”.

With the death of Luke Smith on Courtenay Place late last year, and the increase of threats towards the rainbow community, Teri O’Neill, a councillor and advocate for the plan, said Wellingtonians deserved to see immediate improvements in their communities, not just words on a page.

Sobering data from a council survey of residents found that between 2019 and 2024 safety perceptions in the city dropped by 12% and 33% at night, while police data showed a 30.4% increase in harmed victims from 2019 to 2023.

But it also shows that the increase in Wellington victims, while increasing, is rising slower than every other New Zealand big city.

In 2021, the Wellington City Council began the $7.7m Pōneke Promise ‒ born out of sexual violence concerns in the central city. The initiative morphed into an all-safety initiative and was mostly spent on street improvements, with $2.25m spent on the Te Aro Park toilets.

The people most vulnerable and affected by chronic homelessness will be given wraparound support to provide stable housing options, mental health and addiction support and pathways to long-term stability. Networks like the City Mission’s Whakamaru would provide services during weekends and peak event times.

Drug harm, particularly through misidentified or adulterated drugs, were already being tackled through organisations such as the Drug Foundation, Needle Exchange and Know Your Stuff NZ.

Planned pop-up drug testing near night-life hubs and major events would be done while working with police and “avoiding stigma or legal risks for service users”.

A Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) will be developed to mitigate alcohol-related harm and enhance public safety. This could include limiting the location of licensed premises, controlling the density of alcohol outlets, and set trading hours.

The plan would see the council redesign its “fragmented” approach to CCTV cameras into a central system using “future smart city technologies”.

Building on the training provided through the Pōneke Promise, hospitality staff would receive additional training in risk identification, de-escalation, and harm reduction strategies.

A Safety Hub at the heart of Te Aro Park, positioned at Te Pokapū Hapori community centre, will serve as a logistical centre for the Police Beat team, community patrols, and key staff.

An intercom system called “safety spots” will connect the public with safety operators, and there would be extra lighting along key routes called “The Nightline”. There will be increased investment for community patrols and a Co-ordinated Assistance and Response for Everyone (CARE) officer on Courtenay Place would support venues with intoxicated or vulnerable individuals.

Mayor Tory Whanau said safety and wellbeing in the central city was one of the top concerns she had heard from people over the last year, especially women.

Whanau called it the “most comprehensive approach” council had ever taken to tackling the underlying issues around drugs, alcohol and housing that were often put in the too hard basket.

“While Pōneke Promise has had a positive impact on safety in the city, there is now a need to review and redouble our efforts.”

O’Neill described the plan as a “game changer,” and said one of the biggest shifts was recognising homelessness as a housing issue rather than a safety issue.

“Instead of punishing people for that failure, this plan focuses on real solutions.”

“We want our communities to feel safe, and we want our young people to not be afraid to go out and have a good day or night with their friends.”

Green MP Tamatha Paul, who pushed for Pōneke Promise as a councillor, said while the plan was “a really good piece of the puzzle,” she wanted to see change happen at a central government level.

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