Wellington City Council faces calls for Crown observer after leaking and infighting

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau, during her interview with NZ Herald reporter Georgina Campbell over her alcohol problem, in her Wellington office on December 5. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has been plagued with allegations of serial leaking and dysfunction so, does this mean the council needs a Crown observer? Some of the city’s neighbours think Local Government Minister Simeon Brown should consider it but a law expert says they need to chill out.

There is growing concern that infighting and sniping at Wellington City Council is reflecting poorly on the wider region and may warrant Government intervention.

Things have got so bad that Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter said newly appointed Local Government Minister Simeon Brown should consider appointing a Crown observer.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said the situation at Wellington City Council was frustrating and sometimes she felt like banging their heads together.

Tensions in Wellington have escalated recently after Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon laid a code of conduct complaint against five councillors, accusing them of leaking commercially sensitive information about a deal to buy the land underneath the shut-up Reading Cinema complex on Courtenay Place.

A public spat played out in public after councillor Diane Calvert claimed the council was facing a financial crisis and it was being kept behind closed doors, which Whanau said was laughable.

Meanwhile, councillor Nicola Young has called for Whanau to resign after the mayor admitted to having a problem with alcohol.

Wellington City councillor Nicola Young says the mayor needs to put 100 per cent focus on her health and Wellington needs 100 per cent focus from its mayor. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Ponter said Wellington City Council needed an independent person to moderate the behaviour of elected members, guide them in how they do their business, and how they relate to one another.

“I don’t think that Wellington City Council is making bad decisions necessarily but I think Wellingtonians are sick of the infighting and the sniping that carries on. They don’t expect that of their politicians and they think it reflects poorly on their city as a whole.”

The mudslinging from both sides of the council also reflected poorly on the region, Ponter said.

“At a time when we want to be putting our best foot forward in front of a new government, we’re sort of being pulled back a little bit.”

Ponter said the council could bring in an experienced mediator, it didn’t necessarily have to be a Crown observer, but he said Brown should consider it if the council was unwilling to get help itself.

Hiring high-profile lawyer Linda Clark the final straw

It appears Whanau’s decision to bring in former journalist and high-profile lawyer Linda Clark to investigate Foon’s code of conduct complaint was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Baker said the investigation was a waste of time and money.

“That for me was just the final straw. I couldn’t believe that they would actually do that. I’d hate to know what the cost has been to council when that’s like a slap with a wet bus ticket at the best of times.”

Wellington City Council played too many political games, Baker said.

“If an observer would work, then that would be great but really they’ve got to realise that local government isn’t politics it’s about getting things done for the region.”

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said other councils in the region were there to help Wellington City Council and the question of a Crown observer was one for the Minister.

“Information gets leaked and they’ve been through a code of conduct investigation- that really makes life unsettling and there is distrust between councillors. To have a good strong functioning council, you can’t have those things going on.”

Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry could not be reached for comment.

In the end, Clark’s investigation found there was insufficient evidence to identify who leaked confidential information.

But she found councillors Nicola Young, Tony Randle, Ray Chung, Diane Calvert and Iona Pannett were found to have breached the code by speaking to the media after information about the deal had been leaked.

The Herald requested the cost of the investigation under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. The request was refused by the council because the cost of the review will be finalised and made available soon.

But a code of complaint investigation against former Mayor Andy Foster last term cost about $30,000.

Tory Whanau wants a more collaborative approach across the floor

Brown said he was not currently considering appointing a Crown observer in Wellington.

“I expect all Mayors and councillors to work collegially together to efficiently deliver local infrastructure and services in their communities.”

Whanau unsurprisingly did not think a Crown observer was necessary.

“We sought a code of conduct review so that we could see what improvements needed to be made to our processes to ensure all of us across council are delivering for Wellington, and driving a programme of work that gets outcomes for the city.

“I am taking up the recommendations outlined to ensure there are improvements with how we all work.”

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said he was not currently considering appointing a Crown observer at Wellington City Council. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Clark recommended a copy of the council’s code of conduct be provided to all councillors for review, training on when it is appropriate to withhold information from the public, and a private workshop to discuss the complaint and air grievances.

The mayor disagreed behaviour at Wellington City Council reflected poorly on the region.

“I welcome robust debate about policy and the decisions that council needs to make, but I’ve been clear before that I’d like to see a more collaborative approach across the floor.”

Law expert says Wellington City Council falls well short of needing Government intervention

Victoria University Faculty of Law Associate Professor Dean Knight said while the cut and thrust of local politics in Wellington might be creating sparks and rightly generating newspaper column inches, the state of affairs fell well short of the threshold for central government intervention in local government.

“The folk crusading for Crown intervention into Wellington City governance need to sit down and have a cup of tea.”

Knight thought the sparks coming from the council chamber were part of the natural friction of ideological politics and the rhythm of debate about competing priorities.

This does not equate to dysfunction, Knight said.

“Our community shouldn’t expect our elected politicians to operate like a corporate board where directors sing the company song and have sanitised, genteel exchanges around a board table.

“The hint is in the name - local government or local body politics - and almost all the purported concerns wouldn’t raise eyebrows in the central government politics, where the rhetoric and friction of opposition are heralded as important checks and balances.”

The Local Government Act gave the minister a spectrum of powers to intervene if a local authority is facing a problem, Knight said.

The problem must be something that “detracts from” the ability of a local authority to achieve the purpose of local democracy or a “significant or persistent failure” to perform its functions or consequences of a state of emergency.

Ministerial intervention like a Crown observer, manager, or commissioners is only permitted when the problem is considered significant, Knight said.

“That’s rightly a high threshold, especially given the elected pedigree of councillors and their democratic accountability back to their local communities.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.