Besieged mayor loses parking bid
Wellington’s embattled mayor has suffered a rare and public defeat at the hands of his own council after trying to deliver free city parking till winter.
The winners will be community groups such as Sexual Abuse Prevention Network (SAPN), who now look set to keep council funding that would have been cut to pay for the parking.
But it will mean, two weeks after
New Zealand moves out of level-four lockdown, parking in the central city will again be enforced.
Wellington City Council has been looking at how to find $1.5 million to fund free parking in the city till June 30.
Mayor Andy Foster’s preference at Thursday’s virtual and extraordinary meeting to discuss its pandemic response plan was to fund the free parking, which would have led to a $1.5m funding shortfall for community organisations.
But a majority of councillors, including Foster’s own deputy Sarah Free, voted it down.
Ten out of 15 councillors voted against Foster.
The defeat comes after former threeterm Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast last week criticised Foster’s leadership in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yesterday, former mayor Justin Lester also said it was extremely uncommon for mayors to lose significant votes.
Councillor Jill Day confirmed she wrote to Foster before the vote telling him she and seven other councillors did not support the free parking.
Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, who was among those opposing Foster, said the Sexual Abuse Prevention Network faced the possibility of shutting without the funding.
It was yet to be decided how much of the $1.5m the organisation would get but it was ‘‘very likely’’ some of that fund would go towards it, she said.
Wellington parking is currently charged but during the level-four coronavirus lockdown there has been no enforcement, essentially rendering parking free. Foster had been trying to make free parking official and till the end of June.
Sean Rush
‘‘Andy is doing a great job under extraordinary circumstances.’’
SAPN chief executive Fiona McNamara said the organisation, which focused on prevention of and education around sexual abuse, was facing a $400,000 loss this year, largely due to the Covid-19 shutdown.
While it was not clear how much of the $1.5m it would get, it would help keep the organisation afloat, she said.
Councillor Sean Rush said he voted against Foster because there was no evidence that free parking in the central city would increase the number of people shopping.
The lost vote was not a black mark against the mayor’s leadership, Rush said.
‘‘Andy is doing a great job under extraordinary circumstances,’’ he said.
Councillors and the council’s leadership team last week agreed to donate 10 per cent of their pay to charities of their choice or the council’s community grants pool. Rush confirmed he was giving his 10 per cent to Women’s Refuge.
‘‘As a former criminal lawyer, I know they will do great work with it and they need help now more than ever.’’