Greens used to ‘push’ council transport vote

The Green Party confidence and supply agreement would have been put in jeopardy if a watered-down Let’s Get Wellington Moving transport plan wasn’t accepted, city councillors claim.

A number of Wellington city councillors have revealed to Stuff the behind-the-scenes conversations that pushed the mass transport deal over the line in council chambers.

It is understood Wellington mayor Justin Lester told a number of city councillors Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter and another Green MP threatened to resign if councillors did not vote for the transport plan and the Government would use the money elsewhere.

Lester denies the claims, which councillors say were made in confidence and speaking out would mean repercussions for them.

Other councillors, who were not in the briefing, told Stuff they too had been given the same information by the mayor.

The private briefing for councillors followed the announcement of the final transport package in May.

Onslow-western ward councillor Simon Woolf revealed he and about five other councillors were informed of the Greens’ stance during a private briefing with the mayor.

Woolf claims Lester told councillors ‘‘we’ve got the best possible deal we could get’’ and that Genter and another Green MP had threatened to resign, which would put the Government’s deal with the Greens in jeopardy. Lester denied the allegations.

‘‘There is no record of any conversation ... I once had a sit-down with the Onslowwestern ward councillors and said this is the best deal ... because they were seeking to oppose the deal.’’

Woolf’s claims were backed by several other councillors.

When asked yesterday, if she had ever offered her resignation, Genter said: ‘‘No’’.

Greens co-leader James Shaw said the confidence and supply agreement was never in jeopardy over the transport plan. ‘‘I don’t know where that came from.’’