Wellington Central incumbent and Labour candidate Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Tantrum
Wellington Central incumbent and Labour candidate Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Tantrum
If only Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) could actually get moving.
The Wellington Central electorate is a safe seat for Labour heading into Election 2020, but the city's congestion issues have ignited debate between parties for the past year.
The electorate encompasses Wellington's central and inner suburbs like Thorndon, Kelburn, and Mt Cook, as well as extending out to Mākara.
Candidates vying for the seat from both sides of the political spectrum have vented their frustration at the lack of progress made on the $6.4 billion transport plan since the Government put money on the table last year.
The campaign in the electorate is very much dominated by high-profile candidates in their respective parties.
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The seat has predominantly been held by Labour MPs with one notable exception being Richard Prebble, who won the seat for Act in 1996.
Wellington Central is currently held by Finance Minister Grant Robertson, who first won it 12 years ago.
Last election he secured a 9963-strong majority over National's Nicola Willis.
This time, Willis has spent the last term in parliament with Robertson, albeit an on again off again start.
In 2017 Willis looked like she would just squeak in as a list MP after the first votes were counted in September, but lost her position after special votes were taken into account.
However, Steven Joyce's subsequent retirement from politics opened the door for John Key's former advisor to become an MP.
Since then she has skyrocketed up the list rankings to number 13 under a party now led by Judith Collins.
National Party leader Judith Collins with frontbenchers, from left, Shane Reti, Nicola Willis and Paul Goldsmith. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Willis said Wellingtonians have now had the chance to see her work for them as a list MP.
"I have behind me a track record over the past couple of years of sticking up for Wellington and our people on key issues."
She's especially proud of her advocacy during the bustastrophe and holding the regional and city councils to account when they went before the Transport and Infrastructure select committee.
Willis says progress in Wellington feels like it has stalled.
"Many of the voters I speak with feel Wellington is at a bit of a standstill and they look at the numerous Labour Party MPs around the region and they say well, is Labour taking the city's support for granted?"
But Robertson notes that the difference between his Government and previous ones is they've actually put money on the table to fund transport projects in Wellington. Billions of dollars in fact.
"We've just got to get Let's Get Wellington Moving moving and make sure the Local Government authorities join Central Government in getting the money in."
Projects the Labour-led Government has committed to include a mass rapid transit system and better walking and cycling. There's also a second Mt Victoria tunnel, just not until the end of the decade.
Wellington's congestion has been building for decades with no recent significant investment in the city's transport infrastructure. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Willis' name has almost become synonymous with the second tunnel and her campaign to build it sooner than is currently promised.
National has pledged to start construction on a second Mt Victoria tunnel within its first term, and would legislate for this to happen if necessary.
It has also announced that it would widen the Terrace Tunnel and trench the Inner City Bypass, both projects that didn't make the cut in the current version of LGWM.
Under National's transport policy, Central Government would pay for all State Highway projects and the rest of LGWM would then be subject to a funding split with Local Government.
Willis says that would free up money for councils to spend on the likes of wastewater infrastructure.
She knows going up against Robertson is a steep hill to climb so she's focused on the party vote if people are only prepared to go one tick blue.
Robertson has had his hands full as Finance Minister and steering the country through the economic fallout of a global pandemic.
He's optimistic Labour will be back in Government for another term and has fended off any suggestion he's too busy for the electorate.
"We need a voice for Wellington at the core of Government, I've been able to provide that for the last three years.
"I think people know me pretty well in the electorate. I really enjoy being the electorate MP, it keeps you very grounded in terms of the issues people are facing."
When asked to give an example of delivering for the community, Robertson keeps it local and says the $25 million of Government funding to redevelop Wellington Girls' College is a stand out.
Other than transport, issues in the electorate at the top of Robertson's mind are housing and the arts sector.
He wants to make sure the local arts scene gets its share of Covid-19 recovery funding set aside for the sector.
Housing is another big issue in the Wellington electorate . Photo / Mark Mitchell
To get more people into homes, Robertson points to the Progressive Home Ownership Fund and Kāinga Ora as being ready and willing to partner with the likes of Wellington City Council.
Green Party co-leader and Wellington Central candidate James Shaw knows Robertson from their university days.
It'll be the fourth election in a row the pair have gone head to head in the electorate.
There's also a sense of frustration from Shaw at the lack of progress on LGWM.
"Nothing's happened ... I find that tremendously frustrating because that really should have unlocked a level of activity and we just haven't seen it."
Shaw says the biggest issue in the electorate is housing - there's not enough of it, it's expensive, and what you do get for your money is poor quality.
"This has flow-on effects into issues of inequality and poverty, the ability of middle-class families and working professionals to participate in their work, and in their city, is really squeezed."
"If we could get Let's Get Wellington Moving moving ... that would unlock a significant amount of housing development."
Green Party co-leader and Wellington Central candidate James Shaw. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Shaw envisages thousands of apartments going up around the new mass rapid transit spine running from the railway station to the airport.
Wellington Central is also home to what has been described as the country's most raucous candidate debate.
But the Aro Valley event was more subdued this year under Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions.
"That sort of traditional tub-thumping doesn't really work in that environment and we all have to adjust to that", Shaw said.
That didn't stop Act's candidate from bringing a raincoat in preparation for being blasted by water guns.
Brooke van Velden wasn't taking any chances after hearing what happened to the party's candidate in 2017, when Michael Warren reached the point of shouting at the crowd that he didn't even want to win the seat.
When asked whether that was because of the Covid-19 alert levels or her as a candidate, van Velden puts it down to a bit of both.
"It's harder to heckle when you don't feel like you're protected by the crowd, but also I saw a few heads nodding when I started to talk about debt and business recovery and that we need more of an approach for the economic recovery that takes into account the wellbeing of business owners and anxiety."
Like Shaw, van Velden is explicitly asking for the party vote. She's looking to grow it past the 0.77 per cent secured last election.
She's a well-known face across the country after recently becoming deputy leader of the Act Party.
Act Party deputy leader and Wellington Central candidate Brooke van Velden. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
Van Velden feels she brings a youthful perspective to the race with her 28th birthday landing just before election day.
"I'll be standing up for people who can't afford to buy a home, because I believe I'm the only candidate out of James Shaw, Grant Robertson, and Nicola Willis who doesn't actually own their own home."
Her party would see the RMA scrapped to allow for more houses to be built and give a portion of GST back to councils on new construction resource consents to help fund local infrastructure.
But van Velden isn't the youngest candidate running in the electorate.
Liam Richfield is an 18-year-old student and is sick of the expectation that young people only vote for left-leaning parties.
"Not nearly enough independent critical thinking is being seen, heard or represented. I want that to change, and that's why I'm standing as a candidate."
He's running in the electorate for the New Conservative Party.
Jesse Richardson is also 18 and is running as an independent.
"If you want to talk about why young people are often said to not be engaged in politics, or why they don't vote as much, the answer is pretty clear.
"It's because they don't see themselves in the people they're voting for."
Richardson considers climate change to be the biggest issue for Wellington Central and wants more wind turbines to be built in the area as well as boosting public transport capacity.
The Opportunities Party candidate Abe Grey is originally from the United States but has lived in New Zealand for the past 18 years.
As the party's drug law reform spokesman he's pledging to make Wellington central the most cannabis-friendly city in the country.
"The stigma surrounding cannabis has always bothered me and no one else seemed to be speaking up about it very effectively. I've done that for a long time now and actually, the encouragement and positive reception is overwhelming despite the taboo on discussing it openly.
"I just want to see New Zealand get a little more relaxed about the issue and have their public position on the issue match our private enthusiasm."
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis party co-leader Michael Appleby has lived in Wellington Central for more than 40 years and has put his hat in the ring several times as a candidate.
Unsurprisingly, he thinks the biggest issue is that cannabis should be legalised and is thrilled a referendum is being held this year on the matter of recreational use.
