March 9, 2026 • 6 mins
The new Central Library, Te Matapihi Ki te Ao Nui is opening this weekend, March 14th.
To celebrate the council is throwing an opening ceremony – originally budgeted at a $405k cost to the rate payer.
After receiving the budget, Mayor Andrew Little slashed the cost to $178k.
The library is reopening after 7 years of earthquake strengthening and refurbishments. The opening event includes a 300 person choir and jazz musicians.
Nick speaks to Mayor Little about the process of halting the spending, and the concern from the public about rate rises.
LISTEN ABOVE
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
B Welling to Mayor Andrew Little on the phone. Good morning,
Andrew morning, right, run us through this. How the hell
do we have Ben McNaulty, your deputy on the show
yesterday saying that the whole culture and councils change. They're
now fiscally responsible. They may not spend any money when
they don't have to spend money. And we hear four
(00:33):
hundred and five thousand was okay, cleared signed off for
the opening of the library.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Yeah, that was signed off and cleared sometime last year.
So I became aware of it when I was briefed
on it at the beginning of this year and was
a frankly stand at the budget and so had the
conversation with the chief executive, said this is not right.
This is just we can't be spending four hundred one
thousand dollars on our celebration. The library is important, get that,
(01:00):
and we should have some fun about it, but not
at bad expense. So that is now all changed. Fairness,
people were operating off decisions or approvals that were made
last year.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So the previous council and mayor approved the spending of this,
not you.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It definitely wasn't me. I intervene to get the budget cut.
I don't know how ther provals were made, to be honest,
I haven't made that inquired, except that when it came
to me, I was concerned about it and said it's
got to change, and that changes. That happened.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Now a few people on our text machine are blowing
up a bit about Andrea Reeves. I mean, you have
been on this show saying how fantastic and great she has.
She's it's been publicly written that she's made a couple
of cock ups. Now this sort of spending. Is she
the right person in the situation right now to be
controlling the purse strings for us?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah? I have total confidence in Andrews. She's very good
at what she's doing. She's got a team that she's
working with. I think has been has agnowledged in his
interview with you Look that there have been you know,
some workplace cultural she's I think where there hasn't been
a level of discipline that's been expected. Andrew is one
of the people is extually working really hard to change
(02:08):
that and to get people focused on doing their jobs
to an excellent standard, you know, So it hasn't been
hasn't been all plain sailing obviously doing it, But Andrew
is somebody I have total confidence and to make the change.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So I mean, how do you tell the people of
Wellington that are listening to this show that they should
feel okay paying their rates bill and this sort of
culture exists. And I mean we as Wellingtonian's applaud that
you've come in and you're doing a great job and
you're trying to prevent this excess spending. But it seems
to be every time we turn the radio on or
(02:42):
we pick up a paper, it's still the same issues.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
And I think what people can get confidence from the
fact that we are paying attention. We've got a bunch
of chancellors who are paying close attention and myself as well,
and we are pushing back where we see experiences that
just cannot be justified. I've been very clear with the
Chief Executive, Matt Posser about you know what the vote
last year represented. Willingtonians want spending by the can so
(03:06):
to be put under control and take control of it.
I'm going to be doing it. I'll continue to do that.
But if you know there are possibly some ingrained habits
by some people in the organization has taken a while
to get the message or to change. We will keep.
We will continue. Myself and other counselors will continue to
drive to get that change that the council's got to
(03:28):
accept that it's using money that it raises from rate
payers and residents, and it's got us bend carefully and
just got to get to that.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Point where do those changes need to be made, How
do they need to be made?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I think it's about, you know, when we're considering considering projects,
making sure that the council officers who are in charge
of projects have done the right thing in terms of
going out getting costings, challenging, pushing back, cutting deals, doing
those sorts of things that we only get there when
counselors ask the questions around the table, and myself and
(04:00):
my working relationship with that process is keeping that pressure on.
We've got us spend money wisely intend we're not in
a position to be profigate with eight paers money.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Do you actually really believe you're a smart guy? Do
you really believe that when the doors open on Saturday
that there'd be one or two or ten more people
coming because there's a celebration rather than everybody it's free
to get in that want to turn up and have
a look anyway, they've been waiting for seven years for it.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, it's about it's about having a bit of a celebration,
a mastone events. You know, the libry's been closed for
what seven or eight years. It's been a big project
for amount of money gone into it too. But it
will transform that end of town and it will It
is about, you know, getting back to the point where
both the library and the civic Square and eventually the
(04:49):
city Galery and all that, so that will be the
gathering place for willing to That will be the heart
of willing There's no question with thatbrate that.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
We're we're not questioning that. But I mean, even at
one hundred and seventy eight thousand, that's a lot of
money for a celebration. How much of this is cultural?
How much of this is are we are? We getting
a whole lot of cultural groups to make it feel
culturally accepted when you walk in the library, you know,
it's very sensitive to culture anyway.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, there's will be a lot of different cultures there.
I think there's a three hundred voice a youth choir
going to be there singing their way through. So looked at.
There's all sorts of things going to be happening, but
it is about that. It is about Wellentonian is getting
a chance to see this amazing thing, celebrate it, enjoy it.
So you know, we don't we don't get to open
(05:35):
a big new library very often we shouldn't do and
so this will be you know, once in a loftime event,
we had.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
A caller on just before that said that he looked
at a house in Gondala that's for sale for five
million dollars and the rates were twenty nine thousand dollars
for that house. He looked at a place in Auckland
for the same price and the rates for fourteen thousand.
I mean, it's widely known that we in New Wellington
are paying far, far higher than any other city in
(06:04):
the country. Why.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, I can't explain that particular difference except that, look,
we're doing everything we can to get the spending down
and get rates and increases down. You're right. I look
at the rates increases of the last chapter three years,
which I saw. For the last five years, I've gone
up what over eighty percent. We just can't keep doing that.
So it is about getting the spending under control. We're
(06:30):
doing everything we can do that. We're going through the
process at the moment of cutting the spinding to the
next budget. That's becoming quite controversial. We expect that we've
got to nut our way through it. But I'm determined
that we do everything we can to cut council spending,
keep rates increases under control.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Thank you for joining us on the show. I know
you're really busy. I appreciate you actually making yourself available.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills. Listen live
to news talks There'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
B Welling to Mayor Andrew Little on the phone. Good morning,
Andrew morning, right, run us through this. How the hell
do we have Ben McNaulty, your deputy on the show
yesterday saying that the whole culture and councils change. They're
now fiscally responsible. They may not spend any money when
they don't have to spend money. And we hear four
(00:33):
hundred and five thousand was okay, cleared signed off for
the opening of the library.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Yeah, that was signed off and cleared sometime last year.
So I became aware of it when I was briefed
on it at the beginning of this year and was
a frankly stand at the budget and so had the
conversation with the chief executive, said this is not right.
This is just we can't be spending four hundred one
thousand dollars on our celebration. The library is important, get that,
(01:00):
and we should have some fun about it, but not
at bad expense. So that is now all changed. Fairness,
people were operating off decisions or approvals that were made
last year.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
So the previous council and mayor approved the spending of this,
not you.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It definitely wasn't me. I intervene to get the budget cut.
I don't know how ther provals were made, to be honest,
I haven't made that inquired, except that when it came
to me, I was concerned about it and said it's
got to change, and that changes. That happened.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Now a few people on our text machine are blowing
up a bit about Andrea Reeves. I mean, you have
been on this show saying how fantastic and great she has.
She's it's been publicly written that she's made a couple
of cock ups. Now this sort of spending. Is she
the right person in the situation right now to be
controlling the purse strings for us?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah? I have total confidence in Andrews. She's very good
at what she's doing. She's got a team that she's
working with. I think has been has agnowledged in his
interview with you Look that there have been you know,
some workplace cultural she's I think where there hasn't been
a level of discipline that's been expected. Andrew is one
of the people is extually working really hard to change
(02:08):
that and to get people focused on doing their jobs
to an excellent standard, you know, So it hasn't been
hasn't been all plain sailing obviously doing it, But Andrew
is somebody I have total confidence and to make the change.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So I mean, how do you tell the people of
Wellington that are listening to this show that they should
feel okay paying their rates bill and this sort of
culture exists. And I mean we as Wellingtonian's applaud that
you've come in and you're doing a great job and
you're trying to prevent this excess spending. But it seems
to be every time we turn the radio on or
(02:42):
we pick up a paper, it's still the same issues.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
And I think what people can get confidence from the
fact that we are paying attention. We've got a bunch
of chancellors who are paying close attention and myself as well,
and we are pushing back where we see experiences that
just cannot be justified. I've been very clear with the
Chief Executive, Matt Posser about you know what the vote
last year represented. Willingtonians want spending by the can so
(03:06):
to be put under control and take control of it.
I'm going to be doing it. I'll continue to do that.
But if you know there are possibly some ingrained habits
by some people in the organization has taken a while
to get the message or to change. We will keep.
We will continue. Myself and other counselors will continue to
drive to get that change that the council's got to
(03:28):
accept that it's using money that it raises from rate
payers and residents, and it's got us bend carefully and
just got to get to that.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Point where do those changes need to be made, How
do they need to be made?
Speaker 3 (03:40):
I think it's about, you know, when we're considering considering projects,
making sure that the council officers who are in charge
of projects have done the right thing in terms of
going out getting costings, challenging, pushing back, cutting deals, doing
those sorts of things that we only get there when
counselors ask the questions around the table, and myself and
(04:00):
my working relationship with that process is keeping that pressure on.
We've got us spend money wisely intend we're not in
a position to be profigate with eight paers money.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Do you actually really believe you're a smart guy? Do
you really believe that when the doors open on Saturday
that there'd be one or two or ten more people
coming because there's a celebration rather than everybody it's free
to get in that want to turn up and have
a look anyway, they've been waiting for seven years for it.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
Yeah, it's about it's about having a bit of a celebration,
a mastone events. You know, the libry's been closed for
what seven or eight years. It's been a big project
for amount of money gone into it too. But it
will transform that end of town and it will It
is about, you know, getting back to the point where
both the library and the civic Square and eventually the
(04:49):
city Galery and all that, so that will be the
gathering place for willing to That will be the heart
of willing There's no question with thatbrate that.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
We're we're not questioning that. But I mean, even at
one hundred and seventy eight thousand, that's a lot of
money for a celebration. How much of this is cultural?
How much of this is are we are? We getting
a whole lot of cultural groups to make it feel
culturally accepted when you walk in the library, you know,
it's very sensitive to culture anyway.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Yeah, there's will be a lot of different cultures there.
I think there's a three hundred voice a youth choir
going to be there singing their way through. So looked at.
There's all sorts of things going to be happening, but
it is about that. It is about Wellentonian is getting
a chance to see this amazing thing, celebrate it, enjoy it.
So you know, we don't we don't get to open
(05:35):
a big new library very often we shouldn't do and
so this will be you know, once in a loftime event,
we had.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
A caller on just before that said that he looked
at a house in Gondala that's for sale for five
million dollars and the rates were twenty nine thousand dollars
for that house. He looked at a place in Auckland
for the same price and the rates for fourteen thousand.
I mean, it's widely known that we in New Wellington
are paying far, far higher than any other city in
(06:04):
the country. Why.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, I can't explain that particular difference except that, look,
we're doing everything we can to get the spending down
and get rates and increases down. You're right. I look
at the rates increases of the last chapter three years,
which I saw. For the last five years, I've gone
up what over eighty percent. We just can't keep doing that.
So it is about getting the spending under control. We're
(06:30):
doing everything we can do that. We're going through the
process at the moment of cutting the spinding to the
next budget. That's becoming quite controversial. We expect that we've
got to nut our way through it. But I'm determined
that we do everything we can to cut council spending,
keep rates increases under control.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Thank you for joining us on the show. I know
you're really busy. I appreciate you actually making yourself available.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills. Listen live
to news talks There'd be Wellington from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Fudd Around And Find Out
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd brings her championship swag to iHeart Women’s Sports with Fudd Around and Find Out, a weekly podcast that takes fans along for the ride as Azzi spends her final year of college trying to reclaim the National Championship and prepare to be a first round WNBA draft pick. Ever wonder what it’s like to be a world-class athlete in the public spotlight while still managing schoolwork, friendships and family time? It’s time to Fudd Around and Find Out!