Positive about Wellington? Absolutely
During the past four weeks The Post has run a critical eye over the capital's biggest challenges, in the hope of sparking conversations leading to change. Now, we celebrate what makes this place great.
The French call it mixité sociale. It’s a concept Paris has embraced, and perhaps best summed up by that city’s former head of housing in a recent New York Times article.
“Our guiding philosophy is that those who produce the riches of the city must have the right to live in it.”
In the French capital, that includes people such as teachers, nurses, florists, students, bakers, butchers and toilet cleaners.
City Hall, the article said, had a direct hand in the types of businesses that take root and survive in Paris because it acts as the landlord, through its real estate subsidiaries, of 19% of the city’s shops.
In one area, notable for its many hairdressers the authorities rented to a boulangerie and a cheese shop. Cycle repair shops have also been favoured, in a bid to encourage more people onto bikes.
One Paris city councillor hoped 60% of housing in the city would be public and reserved for low- and middle-income families, long term.
It’s not far off the vision many Wellingtonians have for their city; for all the angst directed at the capital, locals regard it with affection. As do more than a few outsiders: “I’ve been in Wellington from Auckland for about an hour now,” a recent post on social media began.
“The houses and streets and suburbs look cooler than pretty much anything Auckland has to offer,” the writer continued. “A walkable city makes the place seem vibrant and busy. There's still lots of cars on the road, but I’m sitting in Newtown and the street is humming with pedestrians in a way that suburbs in Auckland just don’t.” Councillor Ben McNulty agrees. He says in an ideal world, Wellington wouldn’t look too different to now, just tweaked.
“The city is going through massive changes. But all the work we are doing now is setting the city up for generations to come.”
Tory Whanau, Wellington mayor
“We’d be on top of the structural deficit in our water infrastructure, our central city would be thriving seven days a week, we’d be building more housing and welcoming new Wellingtonians at pace and it would be easier than ever to get around whether by public transport, active transport or even private vehicle.”
Wellington. It could be its own version of Paris, or at least the best bits, because Paris, like every city has its own challenges.
Opinions as to how we get there might differ, but the objective is largely the same – a city with infrastructure that can support its population, that is prepared for climate change, has enough affordable housing for everyone, is vibrant and alive, and has a transport system that works, again, for everyone.
That list comes from the council’s 2024-34 Long Term Plan, which goes out for consultation next week.
It reflects not only the priorities of the 3000-plus residents who took part in workshops or an online survey last year, but those of mayor Tory Whanau.
In an interview with The Post’s editor, Tracy Watkins, following
March’s Capital Crisis series, which looked at the many issues the Wellington is facing, Whanau reiterated her commitment to hauling the city out of its funk and making Wellington “the best city it can be”.
“[Councils] have been cautious about making big investments in the city, but we can’t keep kicking it down the road. We have to invest in the city now,” she said.
This week Whanau said there were major differences between cities in Europe and cities in Aotearoa because of different laws – in Europe huge proportions of the population are long-term renters and have strong tenancy rights and a range of rent controls – but “in Wellington, we do what we can”.
“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. It is people that give Pōneke its character, and that’s why, ultimately, it’s important to me to make sure Wellington is a place where everyone can afford to live.”
“We have spent hundreds of millions on upgrades of our social housing (now run by Te Toi Mahana Trust) over the past two decades to keep people on lower incomes living in the city in high-quality accommodation.
“Additionally, we are running Te Kāinga (our affordable housing programme based on conversions of office buildings into apartments) that aims to keep the central city affordable for people to live in secure accommodation.”
All aboard
Part of growing a city is to support new thinking, changing the mindset of what a city can look like and how it works, and getting central government on board.
Over four Saturdays in September and October 2023 the newly formed Citizens’ Assembly – made up of 42 people who represent Wellington’s population in terms of age (16+), gender, ethnicity, education levels, and home ownership – met to help inform the development of the 2024-34 Long-term Plan. The assembly was asked to give a collective view about which council services should be top of mind over the next 10 years.
The group came up with a list of six priority areas: Investigating alternative revenue streams, capital expenditure, open space, housing, community funding, and process.
Included in their advice were recommendations to increase diversity of revenue streams with the aim of reducing the rates burden, adding much more green space in the city, re-purposing empty or underused offices as residential space, developing a more effective community engagement process, and ensuring Tākai Here partners (mana whenua) are part of all decisionmaking.
McNulty is sympathetic to much of that advice. “GST on rates, congestion charging and Government paying rates on its property are all measures that should be up for discussion. There's clearly a need for more revenue for every council in the county but also to be able to better balance how that revenue is collected. Rates are a blunt tool and I can understand how the trajectory of our rates makes life difficult for those on fixed incomes,” he says.
As to encouraging those small businesses and independents that make a city hum, he reckons there’s universal agreement on making it easier for them to trade.
“I’ve had it raised to me why can we not have hot dog stands on the waterfront, why is it so difficult to make these things happen? I see the discussion less about direct incentives and more about ease of trading restrictions.”
McNulty represents the Takapū/Northern ward, where much of Wellington’s new housing is being built. It has its share of Nimbys (not in my backyard) and Yimbys (yes in mine).
McNulty recognises the tension between the two groups – “one is about inherently protecting the status quo; the other is about embracing the dynamism that change brings for a city” – but says growth that brings more people into a community is an opportunity to be welcomed, not a detraction to be feared.
Whanau says the updated district plan and removal of some heritage protections was a pragmatic move, and would allow higher density building closer to the city centre and significantly reduce the cost to owners of seismic strengthening.
“It gives councils flexibility around heritage protection so we can work with owners to get on with much needed development work in our city.
“Heritage also doesn’t have to be an either-or – there are many successful examples around the city where heritage buildings have been retained and, in many cases, re-purposed, [including] Parliament buildings, the City Gallery, old Government buildings, Turnbull House, Erskine College and the Public Trust building...”
The Reverend Stephen King is chairperson of resident’s group Inner City Wellington and knows the capital in all its guises.
Like the others, he is only too aware a city that supports diverse, thriving neighbourhoods needs all hands on deck.
“Inner city neighbourhoods already suffer from a deficit in public amenities that are the hallmark of great residential communities. There are very few public spaces that are not paid spaces like cafés, bars or restaurants that people can gather in.
“There is a huge deficit in open green spaces that are available to inner-city residents, especially in Te Aro, one of the areas for intensive residential redevelopment.”
Public amenities, such as child care, schools and medical and dental services were also lacking and needed to be planned for, if Wellington was to support the diversity of age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, faith, “that are the hall marks of flourishing inner city neighbourhoods”, King said.
While the city was suffering from historic underinvestment on infrastructure, coupled with the ongoing spiralling of the costs associated with mitigating the issues around seismic and climate-associated risks, Wellington was, with its harbour and hills “still a beautiful place to live”.
Inner-city residents were uniquely placed to to appreciate that, he said.
You would, in Welly
With apologies to Lower Hutt, Wellington, according to the city’s regional development agency, has got the lot. In a new campaign, launched this week, WellingtonNZ is encouraging visitors to the city to “discover something new about themselves – and Wellington” – by luring them here with a “cheeky and fun” promotional video, courtesy of advertising agency Clemenger BBDO Wellington and local production company Honeymoon Films.
You would in Wellington aims to capture the city’s je ne sais quoi or “intangible energy” and invites visitors to, like the Famous Five, go mad in the city over winter.
WellingtonNZ is tasked, by its two shareholders Wellington City Council (80%) and Greater Wellington Regional Council (20%), with promoting the capital as “a place to live, visit, study, work, do business and invest”.
Its priority is domestic visitation – enticing people from around the country to experience Wellington’s attractions, hospitality, accommodation and retail outlets as well as attend events.
It also works to attract and promote events to “foster pride among Wellingtonians and ensure the city maintains its reputation as a vibrant, cultural hub”, and works with Tourism New Zealand to promote the city offshore.
Doing that comes with a hefty budget. The YWIW campaign cost upward of half a million – $200,000 for brand and video production and $350,000 on media.
A raft of activities are planned in the coming months, including the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, the three day Matariki Ahi Kā celebrations, Dr Who Worlds of Wonder exhibition at Takina, Visa Wellington on A Plate, two All Black tests and the iconic World of WearableArt.
They come on the back of Te Rā o Waitangi and Wellington Pasifika festival, the annual Newtown and CupaDupa festivals, Homegrown on the waterfront and the New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Says WellingtonNZ chief executive John Allen: “We are the city that attracts risk takers of all kinds, the people who make a difference to our country and our world. It is the most creative city in the country, the home of world-leading technology, screen and science sectors and it attracts talent, investment and visitors.
“It is also diverse, inclusive and it’s where things happen. It is quite simply the most dynamic city in our country. Who would want to live anywhere else?”
It’s all of those things – along with the strategic wins such as the establishment of a climate and sustainability fund and record investment in water – that people forget about when they’re stuck in the weeds of wants, the mayor says.
Whanau reels off a long list of initiatives that her council has introduced, among them establishing a rental warrant of fitness inspection service to ensure rental properties are healthy (a New Zealand first), planting out more than 100,000 trees and plants across the Town Belt, and continued revitalisation of the city centre through the Golden Mile project and other ongoing street upgrades.
Shortly before last year’s election, Whanau wrote to Christopher Luxon and other political leaders advocating for the sharing of GST revenue central government collects from rates.
The estimated GST on Wellington City Council for rates for 2024/25 is about $79.2 million.
“This would equate to a reduction in average rates of 16.5% [and] would mean that we could invest even further in our city, and truly fix our infrastructure deficits, so that Wellington reaches its full potential.”
Whanau, naturally, is an enthusiastic cheerleader for the city.
“There are so many amazing and positive things about Wellington. We are surrounded by a truly spectacular harbour, rugged coastline and thriving nature – this includes the Tapu te Ranga marine reserve, Zealandia, the Town Belt, Otari-Wilton’s Bush, the Capital Kiwi programme, the pest-free projects – the city has been transformed over the past few years and now is the only capital city in the world where native birdlife is increasing.
“We are home to our nation’s democracy, and cultural institutes such as Te Papa, NZSO, the National Library, Royal NZ Ballet, National Archives ...To quote a former mayor we’re the city where movements begin and hīkoi end.
“We are also the most creative city in the world, ranked by the percentage of people we have working in the creative industries and home to many innovative businesses.”
And no, she argues, it’s not about window dressing, but about embracing the fact the capital has degrees of both good and the not so great, and accepting it.
“Yes, things can always be improved. “We have our challenges at the moment. The city is going through massive changes. But all the work we are doing now is setting the city up for generations to come.”
The Long-Term Plan consultation document lists the strategic priorities for the next 10 years as:
■ Transform our waste system to enable a circular economy
■ Collaborate with our communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change
■ Fix our water infrastructure and improve the health of waterways
■ Celebrate and make visible te ao Māori across our city
■ Nurture and grow our arts sector
■ Transform our transport system to move more people with fewer vehicles
■ Revitalise the city and suburbs to support a thriving and resilient economy and support job growth
■ Increase access to good, affordable housing to improve the wellbeing of our communities
■ Invest in sustainable, connected and accessible community and recreation facilities The final 2024-34 Long-term Plan, based on feedback and decisions made during deliberations, will be adopted by council on June 30.
The head of the fish
Where else, says Liz Mellish, would you be able to gaze at the work of a renowned poet after walking across a bridge created by some of the country’s leading designers, but Wellington?
She’s talking about the iconic City to Sea Bridge and Lauris Edmond’s quote, inscribed in concrete as part of the Wellington Writers Walk.
“It’s true you can’t live here by chance, you have to do and be, not simply watch or even describe.This is the city of action, the world headquarters of the verb –”
Mellish is the executive officer for the Wellington Tenths Trust, chairs the Palmerston North Māori Reserve Trust, is the director of Kāpuhipuhi Wellington Uni-Professional, which delivers Victoria University’s non-degree teaching, and winner of the The Post’s Wellingtonian of the Year Heritage Award for 2023.
Yes, she says, the little book stalls along the Seine are wonderful. But so is the capital’s tech sector, “our innovators”.
She name checks the Malaghan Institute, where work on a revolutionary cancer treatment, CAR T-cell therapy, is a world first.
“I mean, how damned good is that?” Wellington, Mellish reckons, is different from other New Zealand cities; and that’s its allure. It is the seat of Government, and full of “interesting, creative people with interesting things to do”.
She doesn’t buy into the them versus us arguments that can sometimes derail debate, the Nimby v Yimby or the millennial v the boomer.
“We are intelligent, we’re gutsy, and we’re a tolerant city. We have a good mix of young and old ... we’re the head of the fish, which is where the brains are.”