Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau does not believe having an observer will be as dramatic as people think.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown expects McKenzie willsort through the dysfunction between personalities.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau says she and some councillors are “never going to be best friends” and admits that is something she was naive about when she started in the city’s top job.
The Government has confirmed Lindsay McKenzie, the former chief executive of Tasman District Council and Gisborne District Council, will act as Wellington’s Crown observer.
”That’s due to the personalities that are in the room. When you disagree so fundamentally on things like values, policies or so forth, it’s going to cause tensions, it’s going to be robust.
“We’re never going to be best friends and that’s probably something I was naive about when I was first mayor.”
Lindsay McKenzie is a former chief executive of Tasman District Council.
When asked whether she had lost control of her council, Whanau said no.
”This robustness and perception of dysfunction has been building for years.”
Whanau believed they could work together but said “unified” was probably no longer the right word to use.
Asked what she would do differently, Whanau said anything she did differently would result in the same outcome.
”Everything that I have done is by the book, I’ve done everything with the best interests of Wellingtonians at heart.
“What we have are some people who relitigate decisions, play politics, play political theatre because that is the nature of Wellington City Council. I stick by my decisions.”
Not every councillor thought she was a great leader but she had a great relationship with the majority of her peers, Whanau said.
She didn’t think Wellingtonians were embarrassed by having a Crown observer, and she did not feel she had been picked on by the Government because she was aligned with the Green Party.
Whanau said she expected McKenzie to observe and provide guidance to ensure the council was meeting its legislative requirements.
Observing the capital city could be quite different from McKenzie’s experience at provincial councils, she said.
Whanau didn’t think having an observer was going to be as dramatic as people thought.
”Because there’s an observer there, we’ll have councillors possibly watch themselves.”
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau believed the council could work together but said 'unified' was probably no longer the right word to use. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Whanau said between $400 million and $600m in capital spending could be cut after the failed airport sale.
Asked whether there would be redundancies or a hiring freeze internally at the council to save money, Whanau said cutting capital spending would have a flow-on effect on operating spending but she “couldn’t say definitively”.
Whanau said the Golden Mile project was sacred to her because she campaigned on it strongly.
”There’s a lot of negative talk around this project but at the end of the day it’s the transformational stuff that makes our city liveable, walkable, all that good stuff.”
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said McKenzie had significant governance and senior leadership experience in local Government.
“When Invercargill City Council was facing governance issues, Mr McKenzie was called upon as an external appointee to support its governance performance improvement programme.”
“He also has strong financial acumen, which is reflected in his current appointment as an independent member of the Nelson City Council audit, risk and finance committee.”
Brown said the decision to appoint a Crown observer was not one he took lightly.
“However, my assessment is that the financial and behavioural challenges facing the council represent a significant problem as set out in Part 10 of the Local Government Act 2002.”
Speaking to Newstalk ZB this morning, Brown said McKenzie would sort through the “dysfunction between personalities” at Wellington City Council and will help the mayor and councillors to “get on”.
He said McKenzie would provide external advice and assist with a fresh pair of eyes, though it’s up to the council whether it follows the Crown observer’s guidance.
”[He is] someone else who … has not been part of all the drama over the last little while and can provide an extra set of advice.”
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said McKenzie’s appointment was something the region should be proud of, given his experience as both chief executive of Tasman District Council and interim chief executive at Nelson City Council.
In a Facebook post, Smith said “the problems at Wellington City Council will test Lindsay’s skills with a difficult combination of infrastructure, financial and governance woes”.
“We wish him, Mayor Tory Whanau and Wellington’s councillors the very best as they attempt to stabilise the council and sort the Capital’s major challenges.”
McKenzie’s term will last until the end of July 2025, or earlier if appropriate.
“Mr McKenzie will provide the support and advice necessary to assist the council as it delivers an amended Long-Term Plan that works for the city, its ratepayers, and communities”, Brown said.
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.
