Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau no longer has a reliable working majority. Photo / Mark Mitchell
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 radio journalist.
The loss of their support leaves Whanau without a reliable working majority.
Wellington City Council is more obviously politically partisan than most New Zealand local authorities. The capital is the seat of government, after all.
There are four Labour councillors and three Green councillors on the current council. The Greens endorsed Whanau’s mayoralty. It’s worth noting there are also two former Green councillors turned independents.
This was despite Whanau’s preparation on the campaign trail that she might not enjoy a working majority if elected.
She pitched herself as someone who could reach across the political spectrum and build consensus after her experience negotiating with New Zealand First and Winston Peters during her time as Green Party chief of staff.
The council’s recent Long-Term Plan deliberations were the first time Whanau has so plainly had to do just that.
The usual voting blocs were cast aside to form an unlikely alliance in favour of selling the council’s 34 per cent share in the airport.
Winder said that typically, a majority is formed around council tables in one of two ways.
The first is when councils effectively operate like a board of directors in a highly collaborative way. This tends to happen in smaller provincial councils where there is a low turnover of elected members.
The second is when there is a majority faction which effectively forms a Government with a minority of councillors predominantly fulfilling the role of Opposition. The majority is typically aligned with the mayor.
Whanau has been operating under the latter model. Based on Wellington City Council’s recent history, it’s difficult to imagine the former model ever playing out in the city.
She now faces a similar reality to her predecessor Andy Foster, where majorities were formed continuously issue by issue.
McNulty, Wi Neera and Abdurahman won’t oppose policies they are also personally in favour of out of spite for the mayor.
The mayor’s crumbling majority is a good wake-up call and could lead to a healthier Wellington City Council.
Negotiating with centre-right independents isn’t a bad thing. They were elected to have a voice around the council table too.
Whanau may be coming under fire from her own side, but if it leads to decision-making driven by what councillors believe is best for the city – rather than political allegiances – that can only be a good thing.