Regional mayors raise alarm

Concerned about dysfunction within Wellington City Council, regional mayors urged Andy Foster to take action three weeks before he called for an independent review into its governance.

After ongoing squabbles within the council reached boiling point over whether to sell off part of the earthquake-prone library building, Foster announced on Wednesday that it was at a ‘‘crossroads’’ where outside help was required.

The ripple effects from infighting within the region’s biggest city council chamber are being felt across Greater Wellington, with leaders in Ka¯piti, the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa fearing the problem could stifle its progress. Several mayors have confirmed the fractures within the council were discussed at a mayoral forum on January 28, chaired by Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy.

Guppy said the independent review was ‘‘a good first step’’ to resolving the issue.

‘‘We need a strong Wellington City [Council] . . . It is about confidence. It is about people wanting to live and invest in our region.

‘‘If one of us is dysfunctional then people look [at us all] and shake their heads.’’

As elected representatives, councillors had a responsibility to ratepayers to keep their best interests front of mind when making decisions and if the divisions persisted there would likely be discussions about amalgamating councils, Guppy said.

South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen said that while it was not his place to ‘‘tell councillors from another mayor’s district off’’, having factions within a governing body was always destructive. ‘‘You should not walk into a [council] discussion with a predetermined opinion.

‘‘You must be open to all evidence in front of you. It is really crucial for good governance.

‘‘I feel that my role as a mayor is one of a team builder and a consensus builder of the councillors who make the decisions.’’

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker agreed Foster needed to address the dysfunction within the council. ‘‘This isn’t a go at Andy or the councillors . . . I think that we are all trying to support them.

‘‘A mayor needs to trust their council. A council needs to trust its mayor,’’ she said.

Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry said it was no secret that Wellington City Council (WCC) had been encountering ‘‘challenges’’. ‘‘It is important for the entire region that those matters are addressed.’’

Exactly how the problems were dealt with was for WCC to decide, Barry said, but he would ‘‘welcome anything that will improve the current situation’’.

Ka¯ piti Mayor K Gurunathan said Wellington city was facing a ‘‘huge infrastructure problem’’ and unity in governance would be essential to manage that.

He hoped the council would take note of what was happening in Tauranga where a commissioner had been appointed.

While Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has ruled out doing the same in Wellington for now, Gurunathan said the council should ‘‘read between the lines’’ and realise it could be heading down the same path if the in-fighting continued. ‘‘I am not being critical, I am appealing to them [councillors]. Your problems are my problems. Your problems are the problems of every mayor in the region.’’

Carterton Mayor Greg Lang would not be drawn on the issues at WCC, saying if his district was in a similar position he would expect other mayors to stay out of it.