Wellington city’s spend up

Wellington city’s spend up

POLITICAL VIEWPOINT

This viewpoint is from Nicola Young, a Wellington City Councillor residing in Mt Victoria who represents the Lambton-Pukehīnau ward.

Unaffordable rates increases

Wellingtonians are reeling from the latest rates demands. The Council states the overall residential rates increase is 16.9% (plus the 1.6% sludge levy); Mount Victoria’s average is 18.31% - and many are over 22%. It’s even worse for commercial properties, as their rates are 3.7 times the residential rate – and we wonder why our restaurants and retailers are struggling. 

That’s why I voted against Council’s Long-Term Plan (LTP) – Wellington is becoming unaffordable, and I believe Council spending needs to be drastically reduced especially as so much of it is funded by debt that will hang around the necks of our children and grandchildren for decades. Our current debt of $1.5 billion is projected to increase to $1.9 billion next year.

Airport sale

The most contentious part of the LTP is the decision to sell Council’s minority shareholding in the airport. Philosophically, I think the shares should be sold, with the proceeds reinvested away from Wellington to diversify the risk. I voted against the sale in a previous term, however, as I was concerned the proceeds would be blown by the profligate councils we’ve had in recent years.
This year it was proposed the proceeds would be locked away in a perpetual investment fund, safe from the ever-increasing spending demands of councillors. This was a sound plan. 
The fiscally conservative councillors (Tony Randle, Diane Calvert, Ray Chung and me – the so-called Reading Four) got an amendment through to ensure the proceeds could not be used to support an increase in debt; this assurance gave us the confidence to vote for the share sale. 
A week later, we learned the debt restriction wouldn’t kick in for another nine years. So, we have now joined forces with some of the left-wing councillors to oppose the sale when it comes back for a final decision later this year once the sale process has been determined.  This process itself will cost millions. If we stop the sale, the Council will have to rewrite its Long-Term Plan, making cuts to some projects and it could trigger Government intervention. 

Bus stops

Council’s proposal to remove the bus stops adjacent to the Mount Victoria Foodmarket, and the traffic island on the sharp Pirie/Brougham intersection has alarmed many Mt Vic residents. It’s a crazy proposal, which I strongly oppose. These changes were originally part of the Let’s Get Wellington Moving programme of ‘improvements’, which the Council has now taken over. The preliminary investigations won’t start until 2027/28, so we have some breathing room.

Council’s annual residents’ survey showed only 20% are satisfied with the Council’s decision-making. I hope that the current public sentiment might encourage councillors to seek some compromise, and settle on a more affordable and effective budget.