2025 Paekawakawa Southern Candidates Issues Index

Are you committed to the Council’s decarbonisation goals: Te Atakura – First to Zero?

Yes, I support Te Atakura. The climate crisis demands urgent action and should be at the centre of all our council decisions. Our local Labour team has a policy that all major council decision papers will be required to include a Community Impact Statement, which will include a clear account of the climate impact of each decision.

What’s the single biggest action you’d take to halve the city’s emissions in the next five years?

Transport is the area where local councils can have the biggest impact. A climate-friendly city that works for everyone means making buses, trains, walking, and cycling easy options.

I’m committed to cheaper, faster and more reliable public transport. This includes:

• A second city centre bus corridor along Harbour Quays,
• Improving trip times to and from Karori into the CBD,
• Working across regional and city councils, and with central government, to implement low cost improvements to improve public transport travel times.

I support the Golden Mile changes in principle, which will increase bus priority, though first ensuring it can be delivered within budget and that disruption to business caused by roadworks is minimised.

Transport cannot be separated from housing, and the comprehensive housing policy the local Labour team has released focuses on building more homes, with greater density, in the inner city and close to public transport networks.

Will you advocate for aligning the Council’s spending to reflect the city’s decarbonisation goals?

I support Te Atakura – First to Zero and the local Labour team has a policy that all major council decision papers will be required to include a Community Impact Statement, which will include a clear account of the climate impact of each decision.

Will you support the full rollout of the Paneke Pōneke bike plan within 10 years as originally envisaged?

Our transport policy is about giving people options to get around the city, and that includes making sure people who choose to cycle can do so safely.

I support rolling out the cycle network with an aim to have it completed within 10 years. I am also aware that the council faces a serious financial crunch, particularly given the recent $83million sludge plant blowout, which the next council will have to account for against current projects. This may require some rephasing of existing projects, as has already happened during this term of council when it voted to rephase the rollout as a result of government cuts to the national land transport policy.

Do you support a congestion charge being introduced?

Yes in principle, as it can encourage public transport use and also reduce pressure on the transport network at peak times. I’m also very aware that council needs revenue tools other than rates.

However, I do believe we need to have sufficiently reliable and affordable public transport before it is introduced in Wellington, and I have concerns about the impact on low-income households. There would also have to be exemptions. Trades professionals and other service providers would need to be able to meet their client requirements without additional cost to both.

I'd want to address these issues with our regional council and central government before we introduced a congestion charge in Wellington.

Do you support the 2024 District Plan and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development?

Yes, I do. Labour councillors were one of the drivers of the ambitious new District Plan enabling more homes to be built, led the conversion of empty offices into affordable rentals, protected our public housing stock, and kickstarted the review of rates policy to incentivise development of vacant land.

However, more needs to be done. Wellington City Council must embrace density and take an active role in shaping a city that is modern, liveable, and enables people to live in communities where they work and play, while protecting our most vulnerable. Our housing policy includes:

• Changing consenting practice to be more proactive and supportive of development.
• Incentivising more office to residential conversions.
• Setting up an urban development office (UDO) within WCC to support developers to coordinate residential development alongside transport upgrades.
• Protecting Wellington’s social housing and continuing the HUP2 upgrades

What climate action would you champion that isn’t already being worked on by the Council?

In addition to the policies listed above:

• Investigate a Council ‘green jobs’ programme for projects like home insulation, solar installs, native planting, and water restoration in partnership with central government, unions, iwi, local training institutions, and industry bodies, keeping jobs in-house where possible.
• Work collaboratively with local and regional authorities to develop a regional climate plan with clear emission targets and annual reporting to the public.
• Back the development of meaningful resilience and adaptation plans for Wellington’s most vulnerable communities, including to address flooding and sea level rise.
• Plant more trees in reserves to create habitat for native birds and plant more street trees to provide shade to pedestrians (particularly in under-served suburbs).
• Develop a 100-year vision of environmental restoration for te taiao in partnership with the community, including with iwi, hapū, and other Māori communities.

Are you committed to the Council’s decarbonisation goals: Te Atakura – First to Zero?

Yes. I've been supportive for the last two terms, I've voted for them to be funded. I've also been an advocate for the climate emergency declared by the council in 2019.

What’s the single biggest action you’d take to halve the city’s emissions in the next five years?

As transport produces over half of the city's emissions, I'd continue with the low carbon transport initiatives like increasing public transport prioritisation and enabling other active modes through protected lanes.

Will you advocate for aligning the Council’s spending to reflect the city’s decarbonisation goals?

yes I have been for the last two terms, by committing to fund Te Atakura / First to Zero strategy, pushing boundaries with the 64 kilometers of bike network and bus priority programme, supporting plans to densify and revitalise the inner city so that people want to live there and easily lead a low carbon lifestyle. I have also been leading the work on the city's zero waste programme to reduce waste coming to landfill by 50% through removing sludge and food waste and organics. I will continue to prioritise climate mitigation work next term.

Will you support the full rollout of the Paneke Pōneke bike plan within 10 years as originally envisaged?

Yes if and as the opportunity arises as we have serious capital challenges.

Advocating to the government that cycle ways are basic and necessary infrastructure and that they need to reinstate NZTA / waka Kotahi funding will be critical to getting these programmes back on track.

Do you support a congestion charge being introduced?

Yes. I have already made votes that support this and will continue to do so.

I think the success of it is that the funding goes back into public transport as it does in the UK.

Do you support the 2024 District Plan and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development?

Yes I have supported this and continue to do so.

It is important that in Wellington we continue to densify close to the city centre, and inner city suburbs with good active and public transport infrastructure, helping car share to be a better option than owning a car so you can easily live a low carbon lifestyle.

What climate action would you champion that isn’t already being worked on by the Council?

I’d champion strengthening letting communities lead their own climate work to enable them to lead climate action in the way that works for them. A good example is the Ngaio and Crofton Downs Climate Crew who were funded through the Climate and Sustainability fund to help their community measure and reduce their emissions.

I think council is getting close to pulling all the levers it can- it's now up to communities, businesses, sectors to find their own pathway to zero- and council can help encourage/ enable or incentivize this.

Are you committed to the Council’s decarbonisation goals: Te Atakura – First to Zero?

Long words which is. Strait. I go to the absolute answer. Halve the population welgtn. Do backward growth.

What’s the single biggest action you’d take to halve the city’s emissions in the next five years?

Too people too cars. Donono drive. Go the bus.

Will you advocate for aligning the Council’s spending to reflect the city’s decarbonisation goals?

Long

Words pardon.

Will you support the full rollout of the Paneke Pōneke bike plan within 10 years as originally envisaged?

Too cars too people. Vexed clim8 ROMan numeral. Therefore no petrol no electric. Will end. Less km. Therefore cycles will will prevail yes.

Do you support a congestion charge being introduced?

Pardon long words . Donald Strait talk. What charge.

Do you support the 2024 District Plan and the National Policy Statement on Urban Development?

Gov socy is all greedy me. Cars houses he want more more. Death of planet. I promote anti growth. Backward growth.

Roads are now km wide. Wipe out people kids elder. Greedy me. Sic city.

What climate action would you champion that isn’t already being worked on by the Council?

All above.

Post my answers.

Read out all responses.

End times. 2coming Jesus.

New covenant Passover

Protect from disaster last great disaster. Video speech wellington mayoral Donald done waiting. 2 mins

Thank. Timely succinct answers

Audit call centre. Reduce cars and parking.

I havvnñ recorded these answ.

The climate is not my focus per se.

Free thermometer street.

Very moderate climate . No energy supplement . Rather want communication phn talk talk data reasonable allowance 16 years.

No concerts drugs alcohol gamble stealing bn bn from poverty govt.

Pays no prize pool.

Vote super gold trspt concession continue. Wlgt greater well regional notices regional news.

Less ppl. Too population.

Not easy to answer. Must say gud policies. A pretty face and Santa giving will not win. Society collapse. LRNG to count. Measure. Pray. Evil media gabble news.

I stop watching tv. repetitive idiot no science. Little truth.