Nureddin Abdurahman: Wellington City Councillor on the Portuguese millipedes impacting Owhiro Bay

There's claims Portuguese millipedes are wreaking havoc in Wellington's Owhiro Bay - and should be declared a pest. 

The many-legged creatures have been invading homes in the small suburb at night.   

City Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman says he's heard the problem is spreading beyond Owhiro Bay to wider Wellington. 

He says if someone visits the nearby Red Rocks, millipedes could be taken into ecologically protected areas like Zealandia. 

"If it's impossible to eradicate then it needs to be contained."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wellington apparently has a millipede problem. I mean, does anybody
in the country have a millipede problem? No, but Wellington
has a milliped problem, and specifically or Federal Bay and Wellington.
Apparently hundreds of these Portuguese millipedes are scuttling into houses
at night. But the problem is they're not considered a
peace in the country, so no authorities are doing anything
about it. Now. Neurad and abdur Rahmen is one of
the local ward counselors and he's with us home mate.

(00:23):
How bad is it.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
It's pretty bad from what I'm hearing from local residents.
And one of the resident explainings she can't work out
her house without stepping on minipeds and sometimes coming inside
the house.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
Oh so what are they coming inside the house? And
then they're dying in overnight and then people find all
these little dead bodies in the morning.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
That is what seems to be happening.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Yes, okay, now I mean at this, I mean, you
could tell me if I'm wrong, but it just sounds
to me like it's a nuisance problem. It's not actually
hurting anyone. It's just a bit of a kerfuffle having
to vacuum them up in the morning.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, well, I think I think we need an eptomologist
to tell us if that is the case, and currently
we don't have any eptomologists from Greater Warrington Regional Council
or Wellington City Council. From what I'm hearing, it's there
spreading not only in a Frobay beyond a Heiro Bay,
and there are some residents in sALS Gate, Melros and

(01:21):
even an Island Bay. So this is getting a bit
of a big issue. Ah.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
And so these things have come over from Australia, but
we haven't yet considered them a piece. Should they be
a piece?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Absolutely? I think we need to contend it. It's I
think it's if it's impossible to eradicate them, they need
to be contained. The reason is imagine if people coming
to the Red Rocks taken to either ecologically impactful areas
like Zeelandia or even impacting some of our imports. And MPI,
Department of Conservation, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City

(01:55):
Council needs to work together and addressing this issue and
before a get out hunt.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah too right, you never know what these things can do. Hey,
thanks very much mate, really appreciate it. Neurrod and Abdurahman,
who's a Wellington City councilor. For more from Hither Duplessy
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