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The shambolic proceedings in Wellington’s endless earthquake strengthening and bicycle lane obsession has brought two retired lawyers to the forefront of a new activism to attempt to provide some measure of common sense to the capital’s parlous state.
The much-vaunted pedestrianization of the ‘Golden Mile’, part of an attempt to get Wellington moving, but which has been universally slammed by businesses who will be left without car parks and business at a time when the city is already facing a post-covid slump and with major infrastructure issues including a major problem with leaking pipes throughout the city.
City mayor Tory Whanau has been both heavily supportive of the scheme and heavily criticised as out of touch and often out of the city when it comes to getting Wellington moving effectively.
Former lawyer John Swan (right) has fronted an independent economic report into Wellington’s finances, which sees a $1 billion hole in the Council’s finances, which the Council rebuts and says is based upon outdated (although public) documents.
The independent report from Castalia says there is at least $500 million in council spending excluding the most recent 2021 Long-Term Plan, and a further $500m in unbudgeted spending, the submission claims.
Projects driving some of these costs include earthquake-strengthening the Town Hall, Opera House, and Michael Fowler Centre, as well as water infrastructure upgrades and community housing investments.
“We must as a city now push pause and potentially take some very challenging decisions around how we navigate our current financial situation. Continuing on as we have is simply not an option.”
Swan said even on conservative economic assumptions, and factoring in National’s promise to get rid of Let’s Get Wellington Moving, it is clear ratepayers are facing at least a $1b financial hole.
And fronting the ‘Guardians of the Golden Mile’ has been former commercial lawyer Barry Wilson (left) seek an injunction to prevent the Council spending money on further damaging the capital’s current business slump.
The Guardians seek a judicial review of the Council’s decision to commit major funding to the so-called ‘revitalization’ project.
City philanthropist and millionaire property investor Mark Dunajtschik has also thrown is weight behind attempts to limit the attempts to resuscitate the ‘golden mile’, along with other major property owners in the area.
As with the Castalia report, the Guardians say that the City is financially overcommitted and cannot meet the cost of this work (or its share of the work if its joint venture partners still support the project), rather the full cost will be met by the average ratepayer possibly at the expense of necessary council expenditure, including repairs to major infrastructure.
The concerning matter at its core is that Wellington City Council wishes to be bold, spending ratepayers’ money, on a project that does not make economic or business sense, and that its decision-making in respect of the project has fallen well below the required standard, the Guardians said in a press statement.
Bicycle Lanes
The Council’s continued expenditure on bicycle lanes in blind pursuit of their Green agenda and that have seriously disrupted existing
traffic flow issues and are relatively little used despite the vaunted benefits and attractyions of them, continue to exasperate the lawyers and the citizens who face ongoing issues around business in the city.
The National Party has said if elected, it would scrap Let’s Get Wellington Moving altogether, so it did not want to see a contract for the work signed during the election period.
National transport spokesperson Simeon Brown said improvements were still needed along Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place.
