Andrew Little: Wellington Mayoral candidate calls on Tory Whanau not to sign any more contracts

Wellington’s potential next Mayor is making headlines for dishing out suggestions to the current mayor.

Andrew Little called on Tory Whanau to not sign any more contracts in the Golden Mile redevelopment – calling it unethical to do so before a new Mayor is elected in October.

In a statement to Newstalk ZB, Whanau said candidates “do not have the mandate to demand that our Council cease progress on any democratically agreed-upon projects”

Wellington Mayoral candidate Andrew Little talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now Andrew Little is calling on Tory Fano to stop
signing contracts to tie his hands. The Wellington mayor has
indicated that she will deliberately stile sign contracts for the
Golden Mile so that he will keep going with the
project if he becomes the mayor and he's with us. Now, hey, Andrew,
do you know I mean, this is something she said
she would do. But is she actually signing any contracts?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I don't know, and I don't have it really a
way of knowing unless they announce it. But I just
think there's you know, she's not going to be the
mayor after the addiction she's stood aside. Who knows she's
going to be on council. But given the significance of
the project and how sensitive it is and some of
the issues that particularly business have expressed about it, and
not being opposed to it, but just a level of

(00:41):
disruption that could cause, it's a project that should just
have a rule run over it reviewed see whether it's
phased right and staged right and all the rest of it.
And for that reason, the Council shouldn't be entering into
contracts for the later stages until the new council has
had a chance to look at it.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Did you make a mistake. Do you think by saying
that you will not get out of any contracts that
are signed between now and the election?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
No, not at all. Well, it's pretty hard to do
that without incurring massive legal costs because the other party
to the contract could sue for specific performance. I don't
want council to be tied up in a whole a
bunch of legal rangers. They've had enough as it is.
But I do think the current counsel it is within
their powers collectively to make sure that given they changed
council landscape after the election, to put things on hold

(01:28):
and then for things to be reviewed after that.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Now, she says in a statement to us, Well, candidates
may have their own views, they do not have the
mandate to demand that our council cease progress on any
democratically agreed upon projects. What do you say to that?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, look, that's technically correct, But I just think there's
the whole thing about the Golden Mile and the implementation
of it is a political issue. It's an election issue
and there's a lot of disquiet about it, and it's
a business community down that CBD who are under real
pressure at the moment. I just think if the Council

(02:01):
is doing its job, it is it is, you know,
hearing what is going on, reading the room, and taking
the right steps and waiting till the new Council gets
in and can make the longer term decision.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Andrew, is it possible that you may have to renege
on that promise not to break any of these contracts
or go back on any of these contracts? I mean,
is it possible that you may actually have to do
that depending on what happens.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
Only if there was sort of completely outrageous things in
the contracts, contracts or contracts that's you know, you're and everybody's,
everybody's laws go over them with a fire tooh Cone,
I don't want. I'm certainly not going to promise if
I'm elected as mere to put the Council in the
position where they think it'll be spending years defending their
actions in courts because they've decided to break contracts. But

(02:46):
I think that the real answer isn't you know, over
going to break contracts? Is it is within the power
of the Council now over the next five months is
to just stop and say, look, things are going to
change after the eleventh of October, whoever is mayor, and
that's a time for a new council with a new
mandate tay to look at everything and make sure that
we are sensitive to the needs of the businesses up

(03:09):
and down the Golden Mile.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Andrew, it's good to talk to you. Thank you so much, Matt.
That's Andrew Little, Wellington mayor or candidate. For more from
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