Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has told The Spinoff she does not think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a “nice person” in the wake of his comments about Wellington’s councils.
Earlier this week, Luxon called the fact the Wellington region had not put forward a city or regional deal “lame”.
“Well it’s pretty lame-o is my view of it,” he said.
“Here we have a government doing everything it can to make sure that we attract capital to this country which has been a problem for a long period of time and you can’t even get Wellington councils to submit a regional or a city deal.”
Whanau told RNZ the comments were “poor form”, and the councils were sticking to their timeline to get it right.
She said that Wellington City Council Crown observer Lindsay McKenzie provided an update to council officers on February 24 that noted that the Wellington region’s current priority was water reform.
“As such, our Wellington councils are rightly focused on water reform first and we will work towards a comprehensive and meaningful regional deal in due course. We’re not going to waste our time chasing the mirage of a short-term regional deal.
“With due respect, Prime Minister, we will deliver a deal, it will just be on our timeline. We are determined to get this right.”
In an interview with The Spinoff, published on Friday, Whanau said Luxon targeted the capital because “Wellington didn’t vote for him”.
“Wellington is a Green city, and they’ve been picking on us since the beginning,” she said.
She told The Spinoff she acknowledged the conflict could benefit her politically.
“It works for me because a lot of people in Wellington don’t like him.”
RNZ has approached the Prime Minister’s office for comment.
In a statement to RNZ, Whanau said she felt it was important to speak out and address unfair criticism of the city.
“All we’re seeking is fairness. Wellington region was singled out for not submitting a proposal for a regional deal and subjected to name-calling.
“I felt it was pretty unfair.”
Whanau said she would not be pressured into submitting a “half-baked” proposal to meet a deadline.
“Our focus remains on the essential water infrastructure our city needs.”
rnz.co.nz
