Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau defends saying Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is not a ‘nice person’

• Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has criticised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, calling him “not a nice person”.
• Luxon this week labelled Wellington councils “lame-o” for not submitting a regional deal proposal.
• Whanau defended her comments saying she wants fairness.

A war of words between Tory Whanau and Christopher Luxon continues, with the Wellington mayor taking a shot at the Prime Minister.

In an interview with The Spinoff, Whanau criticised Luxon’s character, saying, “I don’t think he’s a nice person”.

“Wellington is a Green city, and they’ve been picking on us since the beginning,” she said, referring to the Government.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says she doesn't think Luxon is a nice person. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It comes after Luxon labelled the region’s councils “lame-o” for not submitting a proposal for a regional deal with the Government.

The Wellington Regional Leadership Committee had initially expressed interest in putting forward a proposal to work together, but in a letter last month it told the Local Government Minister it “will not be ready to submit a proposal” by the deadline.

Canterbury mayors also decided against submitting a proposal. Eighteen regions did come forward, but Wellington’s absence from the list caught the attention of Luxon on Tuesday.

“Well, it’s pretty lame-o is my view of it”, he said.

“Here we have a Government doing everything it can to make sure that we attract capital to this country, which has been a problem for a long period of time and you can’t even get Wellington councils to submit a regional or a city deal.”

“Wellington Water is a shambles, and we’ve, obviously, had issues in the Wellington District Council”, he told reporters at Parliament.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said it was "pretty lame-o" the council's couldn't come up with a proposal. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Luxon said it was disappointing for ratepayers.

But Whanau hit back, saying the comments were “pretty poor form for the leader of our country”.

Whanau accused Luxon of punching down.

She said it was the council’s understanding it likely would not meet the criteria for a deal anyway.

“It was understood by DIA that the Wellington region’s current priority was water reform and, as such, there was not an expectation from DIA in receiving a regional deals application from Wellington in this round.” Whanau said in a statement.

Whanau is standing by her latest comments on Luxon’s character, saying she felt it was “important to speak out and address another unfair criticism of our city”.

“All we’re seeking is fairness.”

“The Wellington region was singled out for not submitting a proposal for a regional deal and subjected to name-calling.”

Whanau said her council would not be pressured into submitting a “half-baked proposal to meet a deadline”.

She told the Spinoff her exchanges with the Prime Minister could benefit her politically.

“It works for me because a lot of people in Wellington don’t like him.”

It’s not the first time Whanau has got offside with central Government. She apologised to Simeon Brown after saying she would be “deeply concerned” if he ever became Transport Minister, which he later did.

Despite their political disagreements and Brown’s appointment of a Crown observer to Wellington City Council, Whanau said they had a constructive relationship.

The pair also traded barbs at a local government conference last year, where Luxon criticised the council’s priorities, citing the construction of the Tākina Convention Centre in which the event was held.

Whanau, in turn, spoke out against the Government’s policy on Māori wards.

In an interview with The BFG podcast in September, Whanau acknowledged her strained relationship with the Government.

“Whether it’s in my head or not, I sometimes feel like Wellington City has a bit of a target on its back when it comes to the Government and so I have to be very careful not to enrage them or they’ll send in commissioners ‘cos that’s the threat that is used on a weekly basis.”

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.