Wellington council votes against waterfront fencing
Thursday, 7 August 2025
The Wellington City Council has voted against a grieving father, a coroner and made a liar of a council staff member but has saved $7 million by voting against fencing the waterfront.
But a hint dropped during Thursday’s meeting suggested the council’s books may actually be worse off with talk of a large financial hit elsewhere.
After talking to multiple sources, The Post understands a budget blow out in the realm of tens of millions of dollars was revealed to elected officials in a public-excluded session last week. Details are expected to be made public next week.
On Thursday councillors voted 13-4 against installing permanent waterfront fencing along key parts of the harbour.
It goes against recommendations made by Coroner Katharine Greig following Sandy Calkin’s 2021 harbour death, who said urgency needed to be given to the edge protection project, permanent balustrades around Shed 5 wharf and the Kumutoto Precinct.
Greig said the council had been aware for a number of years before Calkin’s death that waterfront users were tripping and falling, including into the water.
Calkin’s accident adds to a number of deaths linked to the waterfront, including Isaac Levings in 2023.
The inquest saw council parks, sports and recreation manager Paul Andrews give evidence of a “significant” programme of work under way to address waterfront safety. The value of work was in the “tens of millions” with $6m earmarked for edge protection and lighting, he said at the time.
Ben McNulty, speaking today on behalf of those who voted it down, said there was a clear need for the council to take action on behalf of the coroner’s report but the council was already responding, with $7m already allocated for lighting, life rings, ladders, security and CCTV.
“On this basis, I don’t believe the proposal in front of us, noting the extraordinary high cost on a per metre basis is appropriate to proceed with at this stage.”
The fencing was proposed to line most of Kumototo and Queens Wharf and would cost $3400 per metre.
By voting the paper down, there was now ambiguity on the next steps, however the discussion is likely to be passed off to the next council, which takes over in just over two months.
But the question on what happens to the temporary fencing remains murky.
Councillor Iona Pannett, who voted for the fencing, said health and safety should not be a political issue.
With the coroner about to investigate the death of Levings, Pannett was concerned about the reputation of the council.
“The coroner heard all of the evidence and used a very highly qualified expert to have a look at it, three reports the council received and we didn't do anything.“
Pannett was deeply disappointed by the outcome and believed lighting and other safety features were not enough.
Nureddin Abdurahman said consultation was unlikely to change the outcome, with the coroner’s recommendations clear and specific.
“We cannot lose another life … we must act now.”
The father of Sandy Calkin, Roger, earlier in the meeting called on councillors to take action, and said his son’s death was tragic and preventable.
While the council did not need to act from a legal perspective, there were social and moral responsibilities he believed had not been met.
Figures drawn from Water Safety NZ had listed Wellington Harbour as one of the top 10 “drowning blackspots” in New Zealand.
There had been 18 deaths that resulted from people falling or jumping from wharves or waterfronts in New Zealand from 2013 to 2022. Of those, six were on the Wellington waterfront.
There had not been a similar drowning death in 28 months. ”I would suggest the only difference is the temporary fencing that is in place at the moment,“ Calkin said.
Paul Ridley-Smith from the Oriental Bay Residents Association believed lighting, ladders, ropes, buoys and supervision were responsible safety options that could reach the entire waterfront.
How councillors voted:
For: Nureddin Abdurahman, Laurie Foon, Sarah Free, Iona Pannett
Against: Tory Whanau, John Apanowicz, Tim Brown, Diane Calvert, Ray Chung, Rebecca Matthews, Ben McNulty, Teri O'Neill, Geordie Rogers, Tony Randle, Nīkau Wi Neera, Nicola Young, Holden Hohaia
Randle, later in the meeting, during a debate on organic waste collection, dropped the news of 'some information under public excluded' that should inform any spending votes. He refused after the meeting to elaborate.
Earlier in the meeting the council’s submission on the Government’s Going for Housing Growth was passed almost unanimously, with only Pannett against.
The discussion is part of moves by Housing Minister Christopher Bishop to allow the Government to intervene in local council plans, modify or change plans that work against economic growth, development or employment.
The pillars of the paper include freeing up land for urban development, including removing unnecessary planning barriers, improving infrastructure funding and financing to support urban growth and providing incentives for communities and councils to support growth.
Pannett said the policy supported the burning of fossil fuels, and she was disappointed, if not devastated the council was supporting a policy that did not think of the planet.
Rebecca Matthews replied, saying the submission did not endorse burning coal or fossil fuel, and the programme largely supported the direction the council had taken for housing growth.
McNulty said the bill was an allergic reaction to 30 years of councils across the country restricting the ability to build housing up and out.
Tim Brown said the policy would improve the ability for people to build affordable housing where people want to live.
Also on the agenda was a vote to enter into a service agreement for an organics processing solution.
It means households collection services will be replaced with a collection service for rubbish, recycling and organics, which would move from a user pays to a rates-based model.
The rate per household for organic collection and processing is expected to be between $110 to $151 and will be operational by 2027 to 2028.