Latest news with #WellingtonMayor
RNZ News
19 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Alex Baker throws hat into ring for Wellington mayoralty
Alex Baker is running for Wellington Mayor. Photo: Supplied A seventh candidate has thrown their hat into the ring to be Wellington's next Mayor. Alex Baker is a Chartered Accountant and has also worked in urban development. Baker said he was a progressive candidate and was focused on creating a vibrant city that could have sustainable growth. Baker's ideas for setting the city up for growth included improving housing affordability, improving transport networks and facilitating an innovative and productive commercial environment. He also wanted to change the way Wellington set rates a development contributions to be fairer. Baker is the seventh to enter the all male candidate pool. Others vying for mayor include Former Labour MP Andrew Little, current city councillor Ray Chung along with Karl Tiefenbacher, Kelvin Hastie, Rob Goulden and Graham Bloxham. Nominations are open until 1 August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Dissecting the budget: Liam Hehir & Neale Jones
Photo: RNZ Neale Jones was Chief of Staff to Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern, and prior to that was Chief of Staff to Andrew Little. He is the director of public affairs firm Capital. He is currently providing PR support for Andrew Little's Campaign for Mayor of Wellington, on a voluntary basis. Liam Hehir is a Palmerston North lawyer, political commentator and a National Party member
RNZ News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Unethical for Wellington council to sign more Golden Mile contracts, Andrew Little says
Andrew Little is standing for Wellington mayor in the local body elections. Photo: Aotearoa Media Collective The Labour Party's candidate for Wellington mayor says it would be unethical for the current council to sign any more contracts for a major construction project. Initial work on the city's Golden Mile upgrade programme began earlier this month, which will ultimately see wider footpaths, a cycle lane and cars to be removed during the day between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place. The project has been controversial , as some businesses do not support it. Andrew Little told Nine to Noon he'd be disappointed to see the council march ahead with the plan, given local body elections are to be held in October. "I'd expect the mayor and current council to read the room, frankly. This is a city, a central city, and central city business leaders are really under the pump at the moment. "The one thing they don't want is more disruption." He said he'd repeat his message to the council - asking them to pause on signing more work contracts for the Golden Mile. "Given that there is going to be a change of mayor after 11 October - and there'll be a new line-up in council - I don't think it's ethically correct for this council to be signing off significant new contracts that will bind the next council at a time when things are so sensitive for the Wellington economy." P Mock up of Courtney Place. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Speaking to Kathryn Ryan, Little said he decided to enter the mayoral race after the "crescendo of voices" asking him to consider it, became too hard to ignore. Citing his history as a former MP and Labour Party leader, he said he had the skills to address the cultural issues he perceived at the council and unify it. "Of course, I'm going to say, 'Yep I can talk to anybody and bring people together', but that's actually my track record. "I took a pretty divided caucus, Labour caucus in 2014, and brought that together." Little also believed there was an issue of transparency between council staff and elected members that needed to fixed. "The issue in Wellington City Council seems to me, is a cultural issue. There are some people who decide that - for whatever reason - they can control or limit or manage the information that goes to councillors. "That's my perception from the outside, and that has got to change." He said the mayor not only led the councillors, but had to work with the chief executive to ensure that councillors had all the information they needed when making decisions. His priority, if he were to become mayor, would be to accelerate high density housing developments by removing council red tape, he said. "The hurdles that council have put in place have made it harder, and we've got to find a way... to make it easier, to get those developments going." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
