$8000 for council forum for 54 people

Just 54 people showed up to an $8000, male-dominated Wellington City Council event about the city’s economic future after nearly two-thirds of invitees stayed away, according to an official information release from the council.

Mayor Andy Foster and councillor Diane Calvert were the ‘‘vision setters’’ in November’s Wellington Next: Economy forum, for which the invitation promised a ‘‘two-hour interactive blast into the future from which we may not return, it’s that good’’.

Councillor Jenny Condie said she was stopped from attending, while some others said they were told about the event two days before but not invited.

Foster and Calvert were the only elected council officials present on the day. Laurie Foon and Nicola Young were invited but could not attend. Foon wanted to transfer her invitation to Condie but this was blocked by the mayor’s office, Condie said.

Numbers were limited to 100 due to Covid-19 restrictions, according to an email from the mayor’s office to councillors.

But a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act response from the council shows that, if all invitees had showed, there would have been 141 in attendance.

In the end, 52 people attended the November 20 event in person and two tuned in to the online feed. The session cost the council $8007.

Calvert would not say if the forum was a success or failure but said the council-supplied attendance list was not definitive as people could still listen to an audio recording of the day ‘‘and it is not the end of the discussion’’.

The council’s list of named invitees – both those who attended and didn’t – was at least two-thirds male. There were 90 invitees who did not consent to having their names released.

Calvert defended the male-dominated guest list by pointing out that the panel – facilitated by lawyer and former broadcaster Linda Clark – featured more women than men.

‘‘The forum has given us very rich ideas that have been shared with all and will help build our new economic framework.’’

It helped ensure rates money it spent on things such as events, tourism, free wi-fi, venues, international relations, growth funds and local business improvement districts was appropriately allocated, she said.

Councillor Jill Day, who said she was not invited, thought it was ‘‘strange’’ the council limited numbers due to Covid crowd restrictions, then invited 41 people more than was allowed.

It was hard to understand why councillors were not invited given the city was in alert level 1 at the time, she said.

‘‘Generally, with important discussions like these, attendees expect the mayor and councillors to be there to understand the challenges and opportunities. I will listen to the audio with interest.’’

Councillor Fleur Fitzsimons, who said she was also not invited, believed the council should abide by Covid-19 attendance levels ‘‘but should not invent additional restrictions on size that go beyond public health advice’’.

‘‘These forums are at their best when the invite list is large and diverse. There are many inspiring Wellingtonians who the council can learn a lot from.’’

According to the council’s Official Information release, 20 of those that did attend either did not give permission to have their names released as guests or did not reply.

Foster did not respond to a request for comment.

‘‘The forum has given us very rich ideas that have been shared with all . . .’’ Councillor Diane Calvert