National Prime Ministers seem to have a thing about Wellington.
In 2013 then
Prime Minister John Key raised the ire of Wellington’s community and business leaders
when he told an Auckland audience that the capital city was “dying” and that “we
don't know how to turn it around.” He subsequently offered “an unreserved
apology” to anyone his remark had offended, adding that “actually Wellington's
an extremely vibrant place.”
This week,
Key’s protégé, Christopher Luxon has been engaged in a mutually unedifying spat
with Mayor Tory Whanau over her Council’s spending priorities, claiming the
city’s new convention centre was “loss-making” and specifically criticising a new
$2.5 million public toilet block which comes complete with what the Council
describes as “beautiful lighting” to help reduce anti-social behaviour.
Meanwhile,
those hoping that the coming local body elections would lead to a return of
common-sense politics and a focus on basic services now that Whanau has
withdrawn from the contest will likely be as disillusioned as ever after recent
developments. The circus looks like carrying on, whoever is elected.
Centre-right
challenger Ray Chung’s mayoral campaign has been all but blown out of the water
by Whanau’s revelation of a salacious e-mail about her he sent to some Council
colleagues just over two years ago. Chung says he was not aware personally of
the extraordinary allegations against Whanau, because his e-mail was based on a
conversation with a neighbour about the neighbour’s son, while out walking his
dog. He had not checked further for accuracy before passing the story on to
colleagues.
Not only does
this incident show how lacking in judgement Chung is, but it also reflects
extremely poorly on his capacity to provide the effective leadership the city
so desperately requires. Nor is it the first time Chung has been accused of
making wildly inaccurate comments about Council colleagues and staff that have
subsequently proven unfounded.
Moreover,
Chung’s “apology” was anything but. It took several days to be forthcoming
after the email was revealed, with Chung offering frankly pathetic excuses
about technical problems putting the video message together. Even then, the
words of apology were lost in Chung’s claims that the whole incident was part
of a dirty politics campaign against him, which he was calling out.
Chung’s mayoral
campaign is supported by a team of candidates, running under the oxymoronic
banner, Independent Together. There is a shadowy group of political operatives
behind them that has apparently already put together a dossier of derogatory
material for its candidates to use against other candidates, something Chung
claims to know very little about. Perhaps his team would be more accurately
titled Inept Together!
Since Whanau
withdrew from the mayoral campaign it has been genuinely assumed that former
Labour leader and senior Cabinet Minister Andrew Little would walk into the
mayoralty in her absence. While this may yet be the case – and no doubt Chung’s
conduct over the last week will have strengthened his chances – Little is so
far also falling short of offering Wellington the mayoral leadership it needs.
After the
upheaval of recent years and given the mess the currently dysfunctional Council
is in, Wellington needs a Mayor who will stand above petty party politics and
give the city unifying, consensual leadership. Little is not yet demonstrating
he can do this.
The botched and
inaccurate attempts by Independents Together to portray Little as not prepared
to commit to putting the city’s interests ahead of the Labour Party are little
more than an example of the dirty politics Chung says he does not support. Nevertheless,
there is whispered concern in some Labour ranks that Little is not sufficiently
distancing himself from his Labour past, especially given the increasing public
distaste for the influence of party politics in local government.
This column has
previously made the point that to achieve a sustainable and durable Mayoralty
Little needs to build support across the city, including in the leafier suburbs
that have been ignored by recent Councils. Relying on core Labour voters to
elect him would simply continue the divide which has afflicted Wellington for
too long.
Little is an
intelligent and effective politician who could provide the leadership the city
so desperately and urgently needs. While he is absolutely entitled to his own
political views and allegiances, he needs to put these in the background while
he promotes issues of concern to all those living in Wellington. However, so
far, he looks and sounds too much like a traditional Labour candidate to
inspire confidence he can do that.
With Chung ‘s
self-inflicted implosion, and the lack of any other credible mayoral candidate,
the focus is now more strongly than ever on Little. With just over twelve weeks
until the local body elections, there is still plenty of time for Little to
align his campaign with all of Wellington city.
Otherwise, his
likely election will not be the breath of fresh air many had hoped for. Wellington
has had enough of the polarised Council politics of recent years and
desperately needs a unifying Mayor. Now, more than ever, Little must show he
has the capacity and the will to be such a Mayor.
If he cannot do
so, the election will produce just more of the same, and Wellington’s Council
circus will continue.