• Wellington City Council has stopped the sale of its 34% share in the airport.
• The Long Term Plan will have to be amended which could involve significant cuts to capital spending.
• It’s the second significant loss Mayor Tory Whanau has suffered this year after the Reading Cinemas deal was also killed.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanauis faced with cutting up to $600 million from her 10-year budget after the city council voted to stop the controversial sale of its airport shares.

Last week, Wellington City Council killed the sale of its 34% share in the airport, with one councillor saying it was the “dirtiest politics” she had been involved with.

It’s a significant loss for Whanau who championed the sale and planned her 10-year-budget around it. The sale has divided the council, cost the mayor crucial support and comes after her plan to reopen the “big black hole” that is Reading Cinemas also failed.

Selling the airport shares 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.

The Long Term Plan will need to be amended now that the sale is off the table.

Up to $600 million could be cut from the council’s capital spending to create additional debt headroom to respond to insurance risks.

Projects that could be on the chopping block include more cycleways, community and facility upgrades, and improvements to services like rubbish and library collections.

The council will need to consult on the change with options that include a full sale of the airport shares, a partial sale, or no sale, officials have said.

The amended Long Term Plan will eventually be adopted in June 2025.

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.