Bureaucracy brought to you by [insert sponsor here] – scallywags need not apply
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Cash-strapped councils are getting creative as they hunt for new revenue with one Wellington authority seeking sign sponsors and another weighing naming rights for council facilities.
Hutt City Council this week issued tenders for exclusive naming rights on four council-owned community event signboards, but only to companies that align with council values.
Gambling, tobacco, adult services, and political campaigning are ruled out, along with organisations facing significant controversy or any perceived conflict with the council.
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Wellington City is taking the concept a step further, exploring the possibility of selling naming rights for “smaller” council facilities and allowing advertising across parks, pools, libraries and other venues.
Some measures could have been introduced immediately after a council vote in March but staff were instead asked to investigate naming-rights options for consideration as part of the long-term planning process now under way.
On top of that, Wellington City is also trying to lease two empty floors in its new offices. So far, there have been no takers, but a council spokesperson said staff were “actively looking“ for tenants.
Councils around New Zealand are under increasing financial strain, not least in the capital where decades of underinvestment has led to a breaking pipe system and, in Wellington City, several costly, budget-blown projects are already committed to. On top of that, a Government-imposed rates cap is coming in 2029.
Victoria University associate marketing professor Val Hooper said councils faced a balancing act as they chose advertisers or naming right sponsors.
First, they had to avoid anything potentially harmful, such as tobacco or alcohol. Selling naming rights to a living individual could also be problematic, in case they were later revealed to be a “scallywag”.
Organisations that would suit could be an educational institute or a non-controversial brand, such as kiwifruit brand Zespri, rather than a specific product.
Ultimately, anything they did had to benefit the communities councils served: “The people who pay their salaries.”
Councillor Diane Calvert, who chairs the finance committee, recalled her outrage when a deodorant ad on a council bus stop outside a school had a tag line saying it “makes nice girls naughty”.
Advertising or naming rights could help raise revenue without increasing rates or issuing more tickets, but strict rules were essential. Some facilities, Calvert said, were too important to lose their name.
The Coca-Cola Town Hall would be too much but having naming rights at facilities at a suburban park seemed about right, she said.
The council has previously sold naming rights. The Ākau Tangi Sports Centre in Kilbirnie once carried ASB naming rights but that arrangement has since ended.
Hutt City mayor Ken Laban said, like all councils, his was looking at ways to invest in the city while keeping rates affordable.
“Looking for a naming-rights sponsor of council-owned billboards is one small way of relieving the burden on ratepayers,” he said.
“A sponsor’s advertising investment doesn’t just promote their own brand, it also helps fund and maintain community event signage that benefits local organisations and the wider community.”