Wellington City councillors are being urged to stop their squabbling and come together to assist with the region's economic recovery.
Kāpiti Coast District Council Mayor K Gurunathan. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Mayors from across the region have raised concerns about the behaviour from the region's biggest council, saying their recovery is dependent upon the capital having a strong bounce back after the lockdown.
There has been a tempestuous first four months of the year for the city council, where political differences between councillors have caused tensions. Accusations of bullying and misconduct came to light in the media over comments made during a council meeting.
The council is now considering bringing in a facilitator to help mediate issues and help councillors bridge their political divides.
It's the worst time for such issues to be flaring up, Kāpiti Coast District Council Mayor K Gurunathan said.
"At a time when we are facing massive challenges - [an] economic crisis, health crisis, and a global crisis is going to hit us also - this is not the time for councils to be having these problems."
The issues have a direct impact on Kāpiti residents, he said.
Of the roughly 8000 Kāpiti residents who commute to work outside the district, the significant majority head into Wellington.
The entire region is dependent upon the capital's recovery, Gurunathan said.
"Wellington city is the economic and cultural engine room for the region, so they just need to get their act together and put aside differences, because whatever happens there will have effects right across the whole region."
The Wellington region - like others in the country - is trying to coordinate a collective response to the Covid-19 crisis.
Wellington mayors met last Friday to kickstart a conversation about just how to do so.
Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said there was strong political will from all councils to work together.
For it to work, it requires all councils and councillors getting on board.
"The driver of the GDP in the region is Wellington city and in times like we have, we can't afford to have any city not being part of the regional play, and we can't afford to have any councillors who want to push any agendas.
"That's all got to go out the door as we work together."
Despite the disagreements, Wellington City Council has already adopted a range of measures to support businesses as part of the Pandemic Recovery Plan, and a draft annual plan was agreed on yesterday by councillors.
Daran Ponter. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Daran Ponter said while it was concerning, from what he had seen, it had not affected the council's capacity to operate.
"Everything that I'm seeing, in terms of what they're there professionally to do, suggests that they are giving due attention to the issues that are before them, which the public is expecting of them.
"But the noise that this creates is unsettling for the public."
He said councils are like a family, and the times could be getting to them.
"Like many families around the country, there's probably been a little bit of tetchiness, and people saying things that they don't intend and off-hand remarks."
Clarity as to what the region-wide response remains to be seen, but Ponter said he was conscious local issues would still be considered.
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster. Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas
In a statement, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster admitted there had been issues recently regarding councillors' behaviour.
"[This is] why we've started a process, run by an independent facilitator, to sort things out constructively. That exercise is already underway.
"I've just finished chairing a perfectly constructive and amicable three-and-a-half hour city council meeting where we approved the council's 2020/21 draft annual plan. We will continue to get things done."
