Opposition to airport runway

Nearly 70 per cent of submitters have voiced their opposition to the proposed $300 million Wellington Airport runway extension.

Figures released by the Greater Wellington regional council showed 525 of 776 submissions (68 per cent) were against the proposal, which would involve extending the southern end of the runway by 355 metres into Cook Strait.

That would allow long-haul flights to land in the capital for the first time.

There were 228 submissions in support of the proposal, while five expressed conditional support and 17 were neutral.

Guardians Of The Bays co-chair Richard Randerson said the figures were a ‘‘decisive’’ result for anti-development campaigners, and showed most Wellingtonians did not support the plan.

There were many uncertainties around the proposal, including how much of the $300 million development would be funded by ratepayers and whether there was any evidence the extension would result in more long-haul flights coming into the city, he added.

The airport company has previously said it would contribute $50m to the development.

‘‘The submissions show that a broad range of businesses, community groups and individuals are concerned about the many unanswered questions in this proposal,’’ Randerson said. ‘‘From the impact on Wellington rates, to Cook Strait wildlife, and effects on surfing at Lyall Bay.

‘‘Should the extension go ahead, it will have a significant negative impact on Wellingtonians, not least because, as ratepayers, we will be burdened with a bill in excess of $300m, with the accompanying rates rises.’’

The application is set to go to the Environment Court early next year, with public submissions on the plan having closed on August 12.

Wellington Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford said he was not surprised by the results of the submission.

‘‘In my experience, for projects of this size, you are probably going to get more against, than you will for. But I think it’s a good thing.

‘‘It’s such a significant investment for the Wellington area so, even if people are against it, at least everyone should have their say.’’

His organisation has backed the proposal, with about 77 per cent of its 2400 members supporting the move.

Any impact on ratepayers would be countered by the increased number of people coming into the capital, Milford said. ’’The opportunity to fly direct into Wellington and bring longhaul flights here has got to have a significant economic benefit.’’

The wider planes would also increase freight loads from two to 15 tonnes, while direct overseas flights should encourage more lower North Islanders to travel abroad, Milford said.

Direct flights would also reduce environmental impact by cutting out transit stops in cities such as Auckland, Melbourne or Sydney.

So here’s the deal. Keith Johnson pays his two teenage sons their school bus money upfront. If they walk, cycle or scoot instead, they can keep the dosh. ‘‘Economic incentives,’’ he explains.

It’s that economist’s pragmatism that Johnson wants to bring to Wellington City Council’s table. But only if he can be boss. At 72, the salt-and-pepper-stubbled policy adviser is one of the oldest Wellington mayoral candidates.

He’s quick to put that in context – ‘‘not as old as Bernie Sanders, a little older than Donald Trump and slightly older than Hillary Clinton’’.

While a lifetime of experience in development and transport economics would make him wellqualified for the council, he’s only standing for mayor.

He did stand in the southern ward on a Labour ticket in 2010, but rated a distant fourth.

Things have changed since then, with the rise of social media – his primary campaign tool. He admits he’s a long-shot – but then look at global politics.

Johnson wants everyone to sit down for a nice cup of tea. Set it down on one of his Ten Guitars faux-record coasters and stare out the window at Island Bay’s Tapu Te Ranga island and the fishing boats docked nearby. Take time to control debt and rates rises, and finish what the council has started.

All those big-idea projects are just about councillors getting their name in the paper, he says. Every time they give your money away, they get a headline. So, no new projects – for three years at least.

Johnson’s a Buddhist – Zen, not the Cambodian variety, like the monastery up the road. There’s a story he likes, about an old monk being set upon by ruffians, then breaking his silence to complain.

‘‘The other monks are saying, ‘How come you’re making all this noise?’ He says, ‘Well, sometimes there are times when you should yell and scream.’ That’s what I think about the current situation with council.’’

From his lounge window, perched on the suburb’s hilly boundary, you can almost see the cause of much of the council handwringing – the infamous Island Bay cycleway. He doesn’t think he opposed it; he was just sceptical about how it was done.

I point out a quote from his ‘‘citizen journalist’’ blogposts – ‘‘I am not a supporter of Island Bay’s cycleway but I do feel that, having gone this far, we should give it a fair trial and learn as much as we can from the experience.’’

Johnson grew up on a dairy farm in Cheshire, England; the posthumous son of a father killed eight months earlier in an air force accident. He won a scholarship to Cambridge University to study geography – he was interested in the way things fit together.

It’s the same reason he’s interested in leading the council – because its disparate parts don’t tessellate.

‘‘I think there’s a dysfunctional ethic in the council where they just want to spend more and more.’’

Johnson, meanwhile, has spent his professional life scrutinising spending projects. He did a PhD on the impact of road transport on beef cattle production in Australia’s Northern Territory. He worked for Arab project management company Dar AlHandasah, worked through coups d’etat, typhoons and volcanic eruptions for the Asian Development Bank in the Philippines, lectured in planning at England’s Bradford University and consulted here for the Transport, Health, Housing and