Wellington editor Joel MacManus brings you live updates from Wellington City Council’s Long Term Plan meeting as mayor Tory Whanau presents her budget.
Today’s presentation of the proposed 10-year budget for Wellington is the first big meeting to decide Wellington’s Long Term Plan, and Whanau’s most significant opportunity to put her stamp on the city. For more on why we’re liveblogging a council meeting, see this backgrounder. You can watch the livestream below.
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It’s over. It’s finally over. Final meeting time: 7 hours, 39 minutes. This is still only the first step in a very long and bureaucratic process, but we now have a pretty good idea of what this council’s overall budget and plan for Wellington will look like. The decision to scrap the $230m plan to repair Te Ngākau Civic Square and the City to Sea Bridge is probably the most impactful, and it passed completely unopposed. The question is, what will replace it? It’s pretty clear that Civic Square is essentially condemned given the terrible earthquake rating (although the library and town hall repairs are still going ahead). Over the next couple of years, we could see some big new plans develop for that space. An alliance of suburban councillors pushed back to save sports fields, playgrounds, pools and town centre upgrades. Ironically, it meant conservative councillors pushed for the most additional spending, but their local communities will be pleased. The final decision to explore selling the Wellington Airport shares will be argued about for months (if not years). On one hand, it’s a strategic asset that has delivered great financial returns to the council. On the other hand, it’s important to diversify the asset base given this city’s earthquake risks. If we get hit with the big one, a broken airport isn’t going to be a very useful asset. One thing that I’m still surprised by: There was never any significant debate or pushback against the $80 million cut to the cycleways budget. It barely came up at all. Wellington has some very powerful cycling lobby groups and they will no doubt organise a big campaign during public consultation to try to overturn that. Lastly, another big thank you to everyone who has been following along. This was very tiring and my brain hurts a bit, but I hope you enjoyed it. One final plug from me: If you enjoyed this coverage or found it valuable in any way, please thank a Spinoff Member or consider becoming one yourself. Peace out. I’m going to go drink several beers. Wellington city council has voted to explore selling its 34% stake in Wellington International Airport, as well as a number of ground leases in the centre city. The sale is still subject to public consultation. The shares will be converted into a green investment fund, focused on a more diversified pool of assets outside the city. Mayor Tory Whanau insisted the sale was not intended to pay down debt to fund other spending. “Let me be clear – I will never lead a city that sells airport shares to pay down debt. I have never supported selling the silverware to pay the mortgage.” “Wellington city council must reshape its investment so it’s more resilient and diversified.” Councillor Tony Randle said he was concerned about earthquake risk. “For me, it’s not about getting the best rate of return or the most strategic assets, it’s about making sure this council can react when the big one hits. If we get a magnitude 7 or 8 earthquake, I’m not sure Wellington airport shares will have much value.” Councillor Tim Brown, the former chair of the airport, was one of the more aggressive supporters of the sale. “Anybody is opposed to this is effectively willing to be utterly irresponsible with the assets of this city,” he said. The vote for the airport sale was a strong majority, with only four Labour councillors opposed: Teri O’Neil, Ben McNulty, Rebecca Matthews, and Nureddin Abdurahman. One big area of spending that isn’t changing from the proposed budget is the cycling and walking budgets. Funding for cycleways will be slashed, from $191m to $110m. It would still mean the full rollout of all the planned cycleways, but the lanes would be of lower quality, with less physical separation between bikes and cars. Walking has an even steeper drop. Council spending on upgrading existing footpaths and building new ones would drop from $93m to $39m and would miss out on an extra $24m in subsidies from Waka Kotahi. The final vote was unanimous, incorporating every successful amendment that had been put forward so far, as well as a few extra amendments from mayor Tory Whanau, which were not put to a debate. This means the council’s ‘Levels of Service’ paper is complete. This is how the council tells staff what projects it wants to invest in and what stuff it wants to drop. Goneburger: Back in: Mayor Tory Whanau has removed a $230m budget provision for earthquake repairs to the City to Sea Bridge, the former Capital E building, and other structures in Te Ngākau Civic Square. It will be replaced with a $65m budget line to “investigate other options including demolition”. The amendment received almost no debate. It was included in the final substantive paper and passed unanimously.
The council just voted on a whole list of amendments proposed by a coalition of conservative councillors. Passed: Failed: The council has rejected the amendment to sell Berhampore Golf Course proposed by Tony Randle. Nureddin Abdurahman, who represented the Berhampore area, made a last-minute plea to save the course which seems to have been effective. That five minute break ended up taking 23 minutes, but it seems they’ve figured it out. The council had to vote to give themselves permission to extend the meeting being six hours. “I was a young woman at the beginning of this meeting,” chair Rebecca Matthews says. Councillor Tony Randle is withdrawing his mega-amendment and has some more specific amendments instead. The council will vote on them soon.
More snacks: This time, a big hunk of blue cheese. No one has been brave enough to take the first slice. We are almost six hours into this meeting now and we are only just getting into the big decisions. The next couple of hours will be crunch time. Our coverage in Wellington (like putting me in a room to liveblog a council meeting for 8+ hours) is only possible through the support of our members. If you are enjoying this coverage, please consider donating or becoming a member. Your tautoko helps us keep our coverage free, so we can report what you care about. The council has taken a five minute break because everyone got very confused and needed to ask some council staff to explain what was happening. The confusion is about a mega-amendment put forward by a coalition of conservative councilors, led by Tony Randle. It is very hard to vote on it because it has 41 separate sub-sections. It’s also unclear what exactly Randle wants – he says his amendment was just to get some more information about 41 specific ideas that he put forward. That doesn’t quite work though, because this meeting was meant to be where council decides what stuff it wants, rather than just asking for more information for a future decision. Hopefully someone can figure out what is going on. Councillor Nicola Young has an amendment to close the Berhampore golf course. Maintenance is currently costing the council about $250k per year. “I think we should think really seriously about returning that to a pure town belt green area,” she said. Tim Brown suggested the council could sell the golf club in a perpetual lease for $1 to Miramar golf club, which could take over the management of the course. Labour’s Ben McNulty was in favor of shutting it down. “We shouldn’t be in the business of owning a golf course as a council, it doesn’t seem right to me when we are facing other cost increases.” Laurie Foon, who represents the Berhampore area, said the course was well-used for walking and other activities, but she would rather turn part of the course into a large community garden. The council-owned golf course is under-utilised and has faced several calls to convert the area to housing, but that is beyond the council’s powers as the course is part of the town belt, which is protected by legislation. Councillor Sarah Free’s amendment to fund two new off-leash dog exercise areas has been approved by a council vote. “We will have more dogs as we become a big city, and we need places to train them,” Tory Whanau said. The first series of amendments have been put to a vote, and suburban town centres are looking like they could get a funding boost. Remember that these are just votes to add amendments to the paper – this is not the final vote. Amendments passed: Failed: An amendment from councillors Iona Pannett and Ben McNulty to add $12.5m for a suburban town centre upgrade every two years for the next decade is looking like it might have enough votes to pass. “If we never put the money in, they’re just going to degrade and degrade and degrade,” Pannett said. “I really think we need to do this, because no one else can upgrade a town centre, just the council,” deputy mayor Laurie Foon said. Conservative councillor Diane Calvert also threw her weight behind it, giving the amendment some bipartisan support. Whanau’s initial proposal focused on centre city upgrades with little for the outer suburbs. The amendment doesn’t indicate specific suburbs that would get funding, but Johnsonville has been mentioned around the table several times. Mayor Tory Whanau has introduced her draft levels of service by highlighting her plan to revitalise Courtenay Place, and indicated she was keen on cheaper alternatives to earthquake repairs in Civic Square. “I’ve harped on about laser focus on city centre, making it bustling and green, bringing nature back to city and creating vibrant local scene where businesses are supported for success.” “That’s why I’ve accelerated the Courtenay Place precinct plan to create a pristine, healthy, and clean centre city zone, and implementing a green network plan.” Her starting position, she said, was: “We need to keep as many potential savings as possible.” She indicated her support for an amendment to cut the repairs to the City to Sea Bridge and former Capital E buildings in Civic Square. “I want to highlight an amendment to remove the budget of $240 million to repair Te Ngakau [Civic Square] and look for cheaper options. This is a good example of councillors working together to help some of our tricky financial issues. If we can find savings here, that money should go towards our number one priority of water pipes.” Three Wellington councillors attended a Justice for Palestine protest during the meeting’s lunch breach, calling for the Israeli ambassador to be expelled from New Zealand. Tamatha Paul, Nureddin Abdurahman, and Nīkau Wi Neera were not previously aware of the protest, but stumbled on it during the break and took a photo in support.
The meeting has paused for lunch and the councillors have snuck away, shutting themselves off inside a presumably smoke-filled room, hidden from the public while they eat a SECRET catered lunch. This secrecy is deeply anti-democratic. It is my solemn duty as a journalist to ensure the fine readers of The Spinoff know the TRUTH, no matter how much the powers that be try to hide their actions. Democracy dies in darkness. Luckily, I have spent years cultivating deep networks of sources within this city. With the help of a trusted, unnamed person (whose identity I will protect with my life) I managed to get a photo of the council lunch from within the VERY ROOM ITSELF. This is what the councillors are having for lunch. It looks yum.
Wellington city council chief executive Barabra McKerrow confirmed council staff are hoping to pursue a ‘City Deal‘ with the incoming government. City Deals, which originated in the UK, are long-term partnerships between central government and councils focused on creating economic growth through major infrastructure investments. Councils have the opportunity to earn back a share of the windfall tax generated from the economic growth. The concept has never been applied in New Zealand, but it’s an idea that has grown increasingly popular in some local government circles, especially as councils struggle with the rising costs of infrastructure. “The regional leadership committee is actively working with the Crown on a strong and specific spatial plan for infrastructure and housing supply needs. This puts us in a strong position to work on a partnership deal with incoming govt,” McKerrow said in response to questions from councillor Diane Calvert. “City Deals are a conversation of discussion with metro sector councils now. We are actively thinking about that, but we have to understand how we build the right type of relationship [with the incoming government] first.” We are about to begin “the world’s least popular festival, the amendment-palooza,” councilor Rebecca Matthews says. There are thirteen pages of amendments being proposed by various councillors. Stephen McArthur, the council’s chief strategy and governance officer, gave a warning about the council’s financial state “Many of the amendments will have the impact of moving council further away from the agrees financial frameworks,” he said, referring to the goal of keeping rate rises between five and eight percent, and debt under 225% of council revenue. “The council will need to revisit how to address those financial challenges.” Right now, the council is receiving a report from the Citizens Assembly, a group of citizens the council put together to get insight and give advice about the long term plan. It’s the first time the council has tried a Citizens Assembly, but it’s been positively received. We are getting up to the meat and potatoes of the meeting, where councillors will discuss the Levels of Service – the document that indicates what stuff will get more money and what will get less. It’s not the final budget, but it is how the councillors tell council staff what they want the budget to look like. There will be several further meetings later this year and next year to lock in some of the finer details of the budget. For those who are following along on the livestream, some of the debate can be a bit hard to follow. One important thing to note is that the council will vote on a lot of issues twice. If a councillor wants to change the plan (say, to increase the cycleway budget or to upgrade the Khandallah Pool), they need to move an amendment and win a vote to add that amendment to the paper. That doesn’t make anything official though. The council still needs to vote on the paper itself (this is called ‘the substantive’), and that won’t happen until later in the meeting. Any controversial amendment will be voted on separately as part of the substantive. This is the vote that really matters. Does that make sense? I hope so.
It’s snack time in Wellington as the councillors break for morning tea. The burning question on every Spinoff reader’s mind is, of course, which snack is best? The hummus and the brie are the two big hits so far today. Both were demolished within seconds. The bikkies lay sadly abandoned on the side, lonely and yearning for the loving embrace of a warm mouth. Councillor Tony Randle mercifully took one for the team and grabbed a Hundreds & Thousands (pictured). My personal pick: the gluten free truffles. Not too sweet, and still quite moist. Will a sweet tooth develop throughout the day, or will savoury snacks continue their dominant streak? Stay tuned. The meeting is currently in a public participation segment. Various community groups are making last-minute requests for the council to support their pet projects before the big debate kicks off. I wanted to take this time to give my heartfelt thanks to our Spinoff Members. We wouldn’t be able to spend the time and resources covering nerdy and niche issues like council long term plans without your help. This liveblog is an ambitious and possibly stupid attempt to give local council issues the coverage they deserve. Council meetings are long, intense, and layered in bureaucratic complexity, which makes them inaccessible to most of the community. I think it’s really important that media finds new and engaging ways to tell these stories, because the decisions made here today will have a huge impact on our capital city and all the people who live here. So whether you live in Welly, or just care about what happens here, please consider making a donation or becoming a Spinoff member. Tamatha Paul gave her valedictory speech to the council after being elected as the MP for Wellington Central, triggering a by-election next year. She is handinging her resignation as a councillor tomorrow, so she can still vote in today’s meeting. Among her highlights on council, she listed the Pāneke Poneke bike network, a youth hub in the centre city, funding for climate action, and establishing a task force for council housing tenants. “This experience has stuck with me because over the last four years of serving our city, I’ve seen a big part of our role is supporting the next generation to reach their full potential, whether they grow up in Khandallah or Kilbirnie, so they can inherit a city which is resilient into the future and a city that they can be proud of,” Paul said. I’m thinking this morning about this poem on top of the City to Sea Bridge – ‘The Active Voice’ by Lauris Edmond. “This is a city of action, the world headquarters of the verb,” it declares. Today is certainly going to be a day of action. Wellington’s next decade will be shaped by the decisions made today. Some of the city’s most important buildings and programmes will either get boosts or face cuts. The City to Sea Bridge itself will probably have its fate decided today. It needs $52 million for repairs, plus another $103 million for the former Capital E building that sits underneath it. After the cost blowout on the Town Hall, it is increasingly politically unpalatable to throw money at earthquake-damaged structures. Councillor Tony Randle has emailed his intention to raise an amendment to demolish the bridge, and I’ve been told mayor Tory Whanau may support the idea as well. Personally, I love the City to Sea Bridge. The weird wooden sculptures on top of the bridge are a wonderful place for a deep and meaningful convo with close friends after a massive night on the piss. I suspect most Wellingtonians have more affection for the bridge than the Town Hall. The problem is the ground under Civic Square is so unstable that almost every building there is at risk of collapse in even a minor earthquake.
It’s here. The one we’ve all been waiting for. The big dance. The first Wellington City Council Long Term Plan meeting. It’s like the Super Bowl for governance nerds who can’t throw a ball. I have my oat milk flat white from Mojo (extra Wellington) at my desk in front of the council table. It’s going to be a long day. Tory Whanau already put out her proposed budget last week. It was pretty conservative, with deep cuts across the board, reflecting the perilous financial state of the council’s books. The left wasn’t happy with cuts to walking and cycling, and the right wing wanted even less spending. However, the final document we have by the end of this meeting probably won’t look anything like what Whanau release last week. Already, we’ve been told there could be at least 60 amendments from councillors across the political spectrum pushing for various changes. I’ve been sent a list of amendments being put forward by independent councillor Tony Randle, supported by some other conservative voices. Some of them are huge: Most of these won’t have the votes around the table, especially cuts to cycleways. But demolishing the bridge and creating an urban development agency will be interesting points of debate. The meeting is just about to begin. There will be a waiata from council staff around 9.45am to farewell Tamatha Paul, who is resigning to start her new job as MP for Wellington Central. Before the meeting even began, conservative councillor Diane Calvert raised objections to the waiata, claiming it might be politically biased for council staff to farewell a Green MP. That’s a wrap, folks
Council votes in favour of selling Wellington airport shares
No change to cycling and walking cuts
Final vote: What’s in and out?
Council won’t repair City to Sea Bridge, will investigate demolition
The mega-amendments: What’s in and out?
Council rejects move to sell Berhampore Golf Course
And we’re back: How many hours to go?
Snack update #3
Council takes a five minute break because everyone is very confused
Could the Berhampore Golf Course be shut down?
Dog parks amendment gets support
First key votes as council’s plan takes shape
Fund to upgrade suburban town centres gaining support
Tory Whanau indicates she could scrap Civic Square earthquake repairs
Three councillors attend protest to evict Israeli ambassador
What’s for lunch? A Spinoff investigation
Wellington wants a ‘City Deal’ with the new government
‘Amendment-palooza’ kicks off
How this meeting works
Snack time in Wellington
A heartfelt thank you to our Spinoff Members
New MP Tamatha Paul farewelled by council
City to Sea Bridge could face the chop
Welcome to the big show: The Wellington Long Term Plan meeting
