Little’s Big Launch

By Darcy Lawrey (he/him)

Last Saturday, Labour-endorsed Mayoral candidate Andrew Little and his team packed out Te Raukura convention centre for the formal launch of his campaign. There was a good buzz in the room, perhaps stemming from his team’s confidence. Notable attendees included revered former Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, sat right up the front, and Little’s number one opponent Ray Chung, sat far at the back.

Near the start of his speech, Little mentioned caring deeply about “housing, climate change, and te Tiriti o Waitangi”, and doing what it takes to make sure “everyone gets to live their best life”. “My vision for Wellington is simple; a city that works, where basic services are reliable, pipes stop bursting, public transport is resilient, and job-creation is a focus” he told the crowd. His speech also seemed to differentiate himself from the city’s current leadership: “Wellington deserves leadership that is bold, honest, and focused on results.”

While the mayoral hopeful’s speech touched on big ideas like affordable housing and climate action, essentially every policy he proposed was related to council practices, with a big focus on making council more transparent. These policies included increased consultation with the public, dialling back the use of confidentiality, releasing an annual “Mayor’s Accountability Report, and redoing the councillors’ Code of Conduct.

Little’s speech also criticised the council for refusing to financially back community facilities while at the same time dispensing “corporate welfare”, referring to the Reading Cinema debacle. He committed to saving the Khandallah Pool, the Begonia House, Karori Event Centre and Brooklyn Library, all community facilities which have recently been in financial limbo.

“He didn’t answer the one question” one journalist commented while waiting for Little to appear at the press stand up after the speeches. Indeed, his speech did not include a single mention of the Golden Mile – the plan to revitalise and pedestrianise Courtenay Place, Willis and Manners Street, and Lambton Quay.

The contentious project was the topic of a recent spat between the Mayoral candidate and the current Mayor. Only the day before the launch, he had told RNZ’s Nine-to-Noon program that it would be “unethical” for the current council to sign any more Golden Mile contracts. Mayor Tory Whanau clapped back, “I'm sure any candidate claiming fiscal responsibility would understand why [halting contracts] isn't a good idea.”

Little addressed the issue at the stand up, “I think the issue is that while the Wellington economy is as fragile as it is, you just have to be sensitive to the needs of other stakeholders.” While Little is considered to be the sole ‘progressive’ candidate after Tory Whanau pulled out of the race, his business-focused stance on the mammoth project aligns remarkably with his conservative opponents. Whanau had previously said she was willing to hinge her whole mayoralty on getting it done.ow it lacks any major mayoral champions.