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local body elections would lead to a return of common-sense politics and a focus on basic services now that Whanau has withdrawn from the contest will likely be as disillusioned as ever after recent developments.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.
Peter Dunne, a retired Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, who represented Labour and United Future for over 30 years, blogs here: honpfd.blogspot.com - Where this article was sourced.
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.
Peter Dunne, a retired Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, who represented Labour and United Future for over 30 years, blogs here: honpfd.blogspot.com - Where this article was sourced.
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