Ratepayers fork out $92,000 to think-tank
Wellington ratepayers have spent $92,000 for their council to be a member of a libertarian think-tank that has argued against everything from childcentred learning to increasing the minimum wage.
It was most recently in the news when it was revealed its chief editor, who has since departed, was running a far-Right blog that attacked Muslims and Jews.
Wellington City Council was a member of the New Zealand Initiative (NZI) until March 2020, when Barbara McKerrow became the council’s chief executive and decided the think-tank did not align with the politics of the current administration, said council spokeswoman Victoria Barton-Chapple. The last annual dues were $23,000.
NZI executive director Oliver Hartwich said the council had been a member under the former council chief executive Kevin Lavery, who signed up to be a member 2016. He confirmed it was the only council in the country to be a member.
With annual fee of $23,000 a year, the council spent $92,000 on the membership.
The council retained its membership for the current year but was given a year off from paying the annual dues, Hartwich said.
Barton-Chapple said that was incorrect: ‘‘We are not a member.’’
This news comes as Wellington ratepayers are facing hefty rates rises as their council faces millions of dollars in costs for fixing ageing and failing pipes, work to upgrade the central library, and the Let’s Get Wellington Moving project.
Hartwich said Lavery liked the work NZI was doing on ‘‘localism’’ – arguing that the central government was taking
a disproportionate amount of taxes compared to councils, which got lumped with an unfair burden of costs.
NZI was formed by the 2012 merger of the Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute.
It was recently in hot water for its chief editor’s racist blog posts. The Newsroom website reported that Nathan Smith ran a far-Right blog that attacked Muslims and Jews and espoused incel ideology, which refers to someone who is ‘‘involuntarily celibate’’ and is often associated with hateful views towards women.
Hartwich said he and his colleagues were gobsmacked by the discovery, and he had not been aware of the blog, which was written under a pseudonym. Smith had since resigned.
Justin Lester, whose Wellington mayoralty started in late 2016, said he was unaware of the NZI membership and considered it ‘‘not a good use of ratepayer funds’’.
His predecessor, Celia Wade-Brown, said signing up would have been within Lavery’s authority but most memberships were voted on by council.
‘‘I don’t think elected members were ever asked about the NZ Initiative,’’ she said.
Councillor Rebecca Matthews found out about the membership when NZI’s 2019 annual report was released in December.
She said she was told the council was ditching its membership because NZI’s Right-wing stance did not align with that of the current administration.
But the timing made little sense, she said: Lester was with the Labour Party and Wade-Brown was aligned with the Green Party though ran as an independent.
It was unusual for a council to be a member of any political-based organisation, regardless of where it sat on the political spectrum, she said. ‘‘I wouldn’t expect us to join the [socialist] Fabians.’’
Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons said the council should not belong to private interest think-tanks. ‘‘Our duty is to listen to residents and weigh up what is in the best interests of Wellington.’’
Lavery declined to comment. Mayor Andy Foster could not be reached for comment.
‘‘I don’t think elected members were ever asked about the NZ Initiative.’’ CeliaWade-Brown
Former mayor