• Tory Whanau has requested a meeting with Minister Simeon Brown after revelations about potential interventions at Wellington City Council. 
• Whanau called an urgent meeting with councillors to discuss options after the council halted the airport share sale. 
• The council must amend its Long-Term Plan and cut up to $600m in capital spending. 

Tory Whanau has requested a meeting with Local Government Simeon Brown after revelations he has sought advice on potential interventions at Wellington City Council. 

The Wellington mayor has also called all councillors to an urgent meeting at 2.30 this afternoon which will take place behind closed doors. 

The Herald has seen a copy of the meeting invitation which says the meeting is to discuss the best way forward. 

“The mayor is currently working through the details and believes[s] it is crucial for all to come together to align on the next steps”, the invitation said. 

It comes after the council voted to stop the controversial sale of its 34% share in the airport last week - upending its Long-Term Plan. 

The sale was designed to help solve two serious financial risks: the council’s $2.6 billion under-insurance problem and the lack of diversity in its investment portfolio. 

Whanau has also issued a statement this morning saying she is focused on finding a solution to the council’s insurance risk. 

“Today I will be meeting with councillors to discuss our options and will have more to say about our plan shortly. 

“I have also requested a meeting with Minister Brown to discuss our next steps.” 

It’s a significant loss for Whanau who championed the sale and planned her 10-year budget around it. 

The council now needs to amend its Long-Term Plan and cut up to $600 million in capital spending to create additional debt headroom to respond to insurance risks. 

This has prompted the Government to ask for advice on potential interventions. 

“We haven’t received that advice yet, but we are very concerned because it looks like a shambles”, Brown said. 

“Ultimately, this is concerning for Wellington ratepayers who are looking at this and asking, ‘what does this mean for my rates bill – I’m already facing some of the highest rates in the country, is that going to make them go up even further?’,” Brown said. 

Brown said he was looking at options under Part 10 of the Local Government Act. These include formal requests for information from the council, appointing a Crown observer, a Crown manager, or even a commission. 

There was a “high threshold” for intervention because the council had been democratically elected. 

“They are voted by Wellington ratepayers to make decisions so any intervention has a high bar,” 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.