This article was first published by RNZ.
Wellington’s mayor says ministers are “right to be concerned from what they’ve seen” after threats of possible government intervention, but denies it is a shambles.
This week, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown told media he was seeking advice from officials on the options available to him, and thresholds to intervene, in the city council.
It came after the council voted on Thursday to stop the sale of its 34 percent stake in Wellington Airport.
The sale was part of the council’s long-term plan, with money raised from it set to be used to establish an investment fund.
An urgent private meeting will be held between the mayor, councillors and mana whenua at 2:30pm on Wednesday to discuss the long-term plan amendment process.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau told Midday Report she disagreed with comments made by Finance Minister Nicola Willis that the council was a shambles.
“I wouldn’t call it a shambles, and of course there is pressure and they are right to be concerned from what they’ve seen.”
Whanau said she would meet with Brown on Thursday, and was confident the council could come up with a plan that gave the government confidence.
She said that she had no plans to resign, and the council had not met the bar for government intervention.
“We would need to be failing our statutory obligations as a local authority - we have not met that threshold.”
She said Wednesday’s meeting was not a crisis meeting. Whanau told Midday Report these kinds of meetings were fairly standard procedure, and Wellingtonians should not worry about the council’s issues.
“These things happen - again, we are focused on delivering a successful long-term plan that also addresses our insurance issue, and we are going to do that together as a team this afternoon.”
She was confident the councillors would be able to get an amended long-term plan over the line.
- RNZ