Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The Wellington City Council has voted to consult with the public on whether to sell its stake in the city's airport.
The local body has a 34 percent holding in Wellington International Airport.
The council is under significant financial pressure due to spiralling costs on projects and has been meeting today to debate financial plans for the next decade.
The council wants to use the money from the sale of the shares to establish a perpetual investment fund.
The councillors who voted for and against on selling the council's Wellington Airport shares. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
Several councillors said they would not have voted for the sale if not for amendments made by Tory Whanau which ensured an investment fund with strong environment, social and governance criteria.
The money can also not be withdrawn except as insurance cover in the event of a natural disaster.
Council also voted in favour of the sale of some of all of its ground lease portfolio.
Whanau said one of the significant financial pressures the council was facing with their long-term plan was massively increasing insurance premiums.
She said that was combined with insurance market reluctance to insure infrastructure, which was increasingly at risk of a climate change event, or a major earthquake.
"This stance from the insurance industry means Wellington City Council must reshape its investment so it's more resilient and diversified.
"Currently, we have all our eggs in one basket with our infrastructure starkly exposed to earthquakes and the climate crisis," she said.
She said she would never lead a city that sold its airport shares to pay down debt.
"Instead - to spread our risk and secure our financial resilience - officers have come up with a solution that sells our minority share in Wellington Airport and recycles the funds into a Perpetual Green Investment Fund, or 'Green Fund'.
"This will be a newly formed public asset that ethically invests, with profits going towards meeting the future needs of our city."
Whanau made amendments to the committee paper to ensure strong involvement with mana whenua, and to stop the fund from being raided by future councils to pay down debt.
