The Finance Minister says Wellington’s council is a “shambles” and the Local Government Minister says he is looking at options to intervene.
The comments came after the the city council voted on Thursday to stop the sale of its 34 per cent stake in Wellington Airport.
The sale was part of the council’s long-term plan, with money raised from it set to be used to establish an investment fund.
It comes after the sale of airport shares was voted down, meaning the city’s Long-term Plan will need to be changed. (Source: 1News)
Simeon Brown said on Tuesday he was seeking advice from officials on the options available to him and the thresholds for action against the city council.
He would not give any timeline for developments.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the Government has been keeping a close eye on Wellington City Council — and that Brown would have more to say soon.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis described the state of the council as a “shambles”.
Following the vote last week Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau told the councillors there would have to be cuts to the council’s capital programme.
However, she said she respected the vote that she did not back.
“Democracy has spoken.”
In a response to RNZ on Tuesday, Whanau said she was now singularly focused on delivering a Long-term Plan that delivers for Wellingtonians that offers the certainty they deserve.
“I am meeting with councillors this week to work out exactly how we get there, and how we work cohesively together to deliver a Long-term Plan that does not compromise on our must-haves, that being housing, water and climate resilience, whilst also creating financial prudence for ratepayers.”
RNZ has requested for a more specific response to the ministers’ comments. No reply has been received.
Whanau also declined multiple requests to speak to RNZ.
There were no public council meetings scheduled for Tuesday.
Council staff had warned in documents prior to last week’s vote that if the council stopped the sale it would have to consider two scenarios.
One would be almost doubling their debt ceiling from $272 million to $500 million and cutting capital project spend by $400 million; the other would be tripling the council’s debt ceiling to $750 million and slashing capital spend by $600 million.
It’s not the first time the council’s leadership had been called into question with councillor Diane Calvert calling last month for a crown observer to be installed on the council for the rest of its term which ends next year.
The council has also faced its fair share of controversies in recent years such as its $32 million Reading Cinemas deal falling through and exhibitions at its $186 million Tākina convention centre failing to meet financial targets.
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