Wellington City Council

"Wellington City" and "City of Wellington" redirect here. For football club Wellington City F.C., see Wellington United. For the City of Wellington electorate, see Wellington (New Zealand electorate).

Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and de facto second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and often the Kapiti Coast, are taken into account; these, however have independent councils rather than a supercity governance like Auckland, and so Wellington City is legally only third-largest city by population, behind Auckland and Christchurch). It consists of the central historic town and certain additional areas within the Wellington metropolitan area, extending as far north as Linden and covering rural areas such as Mākara and Ohariu. The city adjoins Porirua in the north and Hutt City in the north-east. It is one of nine territorial authorities in the Wellington Region.

Wellington City Council
Type
Type	City council of Wellington
Leadership
Mayor	Tory Whanau
Deputy Mayor	Laurie Foon
Structure
Seats	16^[a]
Political groups	Labour (4)   Green (3)   Independent (9)
Elections
Voting system	STV
Last election	8 October 2022
Next election	11 October 2025
Meeting place
Ngake, Level 16, 113 The Terrace, Wellington^[1]
Website
wellington.govt.nz/
Footnotes
Includes Mayor

Satellite photo of central Wellington (south at bottom left)

Wellington attained city status in 1886. The settlement had become the colonial capital and seat of government by 1865, replacing Auckland. Parliament officially sat in Wellington for the first time on 26 July 1865. During the last half of the nineteenth century, Wellington grew rapidly from 7,460 residents in 1867 to 49,344 by the end of the century.^[2]

The council represents a population of 213,100 as of June 2022^[3] and consists of a mayor and fifteen councillors elected from six wards (Northern, Onslow-Western, Lambton, Eastern, Southern general wards and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward).^{[n 1][4]} It administers public works, sanitation, land use and building consents, among other local services. The council has used the marketing slogan "Absolutely Positively Wellington" in an official capacity since the early 1990s.^[5]

Council and committees

The Mayor and all Councillors are members of Council. Following a review in 2021 by former Local Government New Zealand chief executive Peter Winder, the Council adopted a new committee structure.^[6] All committees apart from Te Kaunihera o Pōneke Council and Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee include two mana whenua representatives, who are paid and have voting rights.^[7]

Committees and subcommittees of the Wellington City Council to October 2022

Committee	Chair	Deputy Chair	Membership
Te Kaunihera o Pōneke	Mayor Andy Foster	Deputy Mayor Sarah Free	Mayor and all councillors
Pūroro Tahua Finance and Performance Committee	Cr Diane Calvert	Cr Laurie Foon	Mayor and all councillors and two mana whenua representatives
Kāwai Māhirahira Audit and Risk Subcommittee	Independent appointment	Cr Jenny Condie	Cr Rush, Cr Paul, Cr Pannett, Linda Rieper, Roy Tiffin, and two mana whenua representatives
Pūroro Āmua Planning and Environment Committee	Cr Iona Pannett	Cr Tamatha Paul	Mayor and all councillors and two mana whenua representatives
Pūroro Waihanga Infrastructure Committee	Cr Sean Rush	Cr Jenny Condie	Mayor and all councillors and two mana whenua representatives
Pūroro Rangaranga Social, Cultural and Economic Committee	Cr Jill Day	Cr Nicola Young	Mayor and all councillors and two mana whenua representatives
Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee	Cr Fleur Fitzsimons	Cr Teri O'Neill	Cr Day, Cr Foon, Cr Matthews, Cr Young and two mana whenua representatives
Pūroro Maherehere Annual Plan/Long-term Plan Committee	Cr Rebecca Matthews	Mayor Andy Foster	Mayor and all councillors and two mana whenua representatives
Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee	Vacant	Cr Simon Woolf	Deputy Mayor Free, Cr O’Neill, Cr Condie, Cr Matthews and two mana whenua representatives
Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee	Mayor Andy Foster	Deputy Mayor Sarah Free	Cr Calvert, Cr Pannett, Cr Rush and Cr Day

Wellington's local electoral wards were given Māori names in 2018, after consultation with mana whenua.^[8]

Mayor

Main article: Mayor of Wellington

See also: 2019 Wellington City mayoral election and 2022 Wellington City mayoral election

One mayor is elected at large from the entire Wellington City district.

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Tory Whanau	Independent	2022	Ex-officio member of all committees and subcommittees

Te Whanganui-a-Tara Māori ward

Te Whanganui a Tara is a Māori ward created by Wellington City Council in 2021.^[9] The 2022 election returned Nīkau Wi-Neera as its first-ever councillor.^[10]

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Nīkau Wi-Neera	Greens	2022

Motukairangi Eastern Ward

Motukairangi Eastern Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. From 2019 until October 2022, the councillors were:

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Sarah Free	Independent	2013	Deputy Mayor Deputy Chair, Council Deputy Chair, Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee Member, Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee
	Teri O'Neill	Labour	2019	Deputy Chair, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee Member, Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee
	Sean Rush	The Wellington Party	2019	Chair, Pūroro Waihanga Infrastructure Committee Member, Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee Member, Kāwai Māhirahira Audit and Risk Subcommittee

Pukehīnau Lambton Ward

Pukehīnau Lambton Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. From 2019 until October 2022, the councillors were:

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Iona Pannett	Greens	2007	Chair, Pūroro Āmua Planning and Environment Committee Member, Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee Member, Kāwai Māhirahira Audit and Risk Subcommittee
	Nicola Young	Independent	2013	Deputy Chair, Pūroro Rangaranga Social, Cultural and Economic Committee Member, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee
	Tamatha Paul	Independent	2019	Deputy Chair, Pūroro Āmua Planning and Environment Committee Member, Kāwai Māhirahira Audit and Risk Subcommittee

Takapū Northern Ward

Takapū Northern Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council.

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Jill Day^[11]	Independent	2016	Chair, Pūroro Rangaranga Social, Cultural and Economic Committee Member, Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee Member, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee
	Jenny Condie	Independent	2019	Deputy Chair, Pūroro Waihanga Infrastructure Committee Deputy Chair, Kāwai Māhirahira Audit and Risk Subcommittee Member, Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee

Malcolm Sparrow was first elected as a councillor for Takapū Northern Ward in 2013, and served as an independent until his retirement for health reasons in October 2021.^[12] At the time of his retirement, he was the chair of Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee.

Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward

Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward returns three councillors to the Wellington City Council. From 2019 until October 2022, its councillors were:

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Diane Calvert	Independent	2016	Chair, Pūroro Tahua Finance and Performance Committee Member, Ngutu Taki CEO Performance Review Committee
	Simon Woolf	Independent	2013	Deputy Chair, Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee
	Rebecca Matthews	Labour	2019	Chair, Pūroro Maherehere Annual Plan/Long-term Plan Committee Member, Pūroro Hātepe Regulatory Processes Committee Member, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee

Paekawakawa Southern Ward

Paekawakawa Southern Ward is the only ward that returns two councillors to the Wellington City Council (all others returning one or three). From 2019 until October 2022, its councillors were:

	Name	Affiliation (if any)	First elected	Responsibilities
	Fleur Fitzsimons	Labour	2017	Chair, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee
	Laurie Foon	Greens	2019	Deputy Chair, Pūroro Tahua Finance and Performance Committee Member, Kāwai Whakatipu Grants Subcommittee

Community Boards

The Council has created two local community boards under the provisions of Part 4 of the Local Government Act 2002,^[13] with members elected using a single transferable vote (STV) system^[14] or appointed by the Council.

These are:

• Tawa Community Board,^[15] having six elected members and two appointed members, representing the northern suburbs of Tawa, Grenada North and Takapū Valley;^[16] and
• Mākara/Ōhāriu Community Board,^[17] having six elected members, representing the rural suburbs of Ohariu, Mākara and Mākara Beach.^[16]

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Wellington City Council

Notes The City of Wellington has a Coat of Arms. The blazon is:^[18] Crest On a Mural Crown Argent a Dolphin Naiant Azure, Mantled Gules. Escutcheon Quarterly Gules and Azure, a Cross Or between; In the first quarter a Fleece Or; in the second quarter on Water barry wavy proper in base a Lymphad sail furled pennon and flags flying Argent; in the third quarter a Garb Or; in the fourth quarter five Plates in Saltire Argent. Supporters On the dexter side a Lion gorged with a Collar and Chain reflexed over the back Or, and on the sinister side a Moa proper. Motto Suprema a Situ (Supreme by position) Symbolism The shield is divided vertically and horizontally, quarter of which the first and fourth are red and the remaining pair are blue. A golden cross is placed over the entire shield centrally between these quarters. The top left quarter contains a golden fleece (usually depicted as a whole sheep with a band around its middle). The second quarter is depicted as a silver sailing ship (lymphad) with its sails furled as it would be in port but with its flags flying, placed on waves in their natural colour. The third quarter contains a golden wheat sheaf, and the fourth has five silver discs arranged in a saltire. The mural crown (a crown depicted as if made of stonewalling) is common as a crest in city coats of arms. It is coloured silver, and from its top comes a swimming dolphin. Around the crest is mantling in red. The supporters on either side of the shield are a golden heraldic lion with a chained collar around its neck to the left, and a moa in its natural colouring on the right (the terms "sinister" and "dexter" relate to the shield from the holder's point of view, not the viewer's, thus dexter is the viewer's left and sinister is the viewer's right). The base on which the supporters stand is normally not emblazoned but is left to the artist to decide. The Motto may be translated as "Supreme by position".

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	179,466	—
2013	190,956	+0.89%
2018	202,737	+1.20%
Source: ^[19]

Wellington City had a population of 202,737 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 11,781 people (6.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 23,271 people (13.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 74,841 households. There were 98,823 males and 103,911 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 34.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 32,856 people (16.2%) aged under 15 years, 54,999 (27.1%) aged 15 to 29, 93,669 (46.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 21,213 (10.5%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 74.1% European/Pākehā, 8.6% Māori, 5.1% Pacific peoples, 18.3% Asian, and 4.5% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 33.4%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.2% had no religion, 31.4% were Christian, 3.7% were Hindu, 1.6% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 74,922 (44.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 12,690 (7.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $41,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 96,453 (56.8%) people were employed full-time, 24,738 (14.6%) were part-time, and 7,719 (4.5%) were unemployed.^[19]

Individual wards

Name	Population	Households	Median age	Median income
Takapū Northern Ward	47,796	16,467	35.9 years	$41,500
Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward	43,176	15,750	38.6 years	$51,800
Pukehīnau Lambton Ward	46,140	18,204	28.4 years	$37,500
Motukairangi Eastern Ward	37,965	14,199	37 years	$41,100
Paekawakawa Southern Ward	27,654	10,221	34 years	$38,700
New Zealand			37.4 years	$31,800

Suburbs

Wellington city has 57 officially defined suburbs; one can group them by the wards used to elect the City Council. Some areas, while officially forming part of a larger suburb (or several suburbs), are considered by some to be separate communities. The officially defined suburbs include:

 

Official suburbs of Wellington: the darker tone indicate built-up areas, the lighter parkland, green belt or rural areas.

Takapū Northern Ward

• official: Churton Park; Glenside; Grenada North; Grenada Village; Horokiwi; Johnsonville; Newlands; Ohariu; Paparangi; Takapu Valley; Tawa; Woodridge
• informal: Greenacres; Linden; Redwood

Wharangi Onslow-Western Ward

• official: Broadmeadows; Crofton Downs; Kaiwharawhara; Karori; Khandallah; Mākara; Mākara Beach; Ngaio; Ngauranga; Northland; Wadestown; Wilton.
• informal: Cashmere; Chartwell; Highland Park; Rangoon Heights; Te Kainga

Pukehīnau Lambton Ward

• official: Aro Valley; Highbury; Kelburn; Mount Cook; Mount Victoria; Oriental Bay; Pipitea; Te Aro; Thorndon; Wellington

Within Lambton Ward, the Council's tourism agency has designated three inner-city "quarters", as marketing subdivisions to promote international and domestic tourism. They are:

• Courtenay Quarter, centred around Courtenay Place
• Cuba Quarter, centred around Cuba Street
• Lambton Quarter, centred around Lambton Quay
• The Waterfront Quarter, centred around the waterfront

Paekawakawa Southern Ward

• official: Berhampore; Brooklyn; Island Bay; Kingston; Mornington; Newtown; Ōwhiro Bay; Southgate; Vogeltown
• informal: Kowhai Park

Motukairangi Eastern Ward

• official: Breaker Bay; Hataitai; Houghton Bay; Karaka Bays; Kilbirnie; Lyall Bay; Maupuia; Melrose; Miramar; Moa Point; Rongotai; Roseneath; Seatoun; Strathmore Park
• informal: Crawford; Seatoun Bays; Seatoun Heights; Miramar Heights; Strathmore Heights.

Council-owned companies and enterprises

The Wellington City Council owns or directly operates several companies.

The Council is a part-owner of Wellington Airport, and has two representatives on the airport's board. Mayor Andy Foster has been a member of the board since 2016, but has been criticised for poor attendance at board meetings.^[20]

The seven council-controlled organisations (CCOs) are^[21]

• Basin Reserve Trust
• Karori Sanctuary Trust (ZEALANDIA)
• Wellington Cable Car Ltd
• Wellington Museums Trust (ExperienceWellington), which operates City Gallery Wellington and the Museum of Wellington City & Sea
• Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Ltd (WREDA)
• Wellington Water manages all three water services for Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Wellington city councils, and South Wairarapa District councils.
• Wellington Zoo Trust

The Council has a similar interest in the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust.

Sister-city relationships

 

The ceremonial mace of Wellington City Council, gifted to the city by Harrogate in 1954^[22]

Sister cities^[23]

•   Sydney, Australia
•   Canberra, Australia^[24]
•   Beijing, People's Republic of China
•   Xiamen, Fujian, People's Republic of China
•   Sakai, Osaka, Japan

Historical sister cities^[25]

•   Harrogate, England, United Kingdom
•   Hania, Crete, Greece
•   Çanakkale, Turkey

Friendly cities^[26]

•   Tianjin, People's Republic of China

History

The City of Wellington has subsumed independent boroughs including:

• Melrose (established 1888) in 1903
• Onslow (Khandallah/Ngaio) (established 1890) in 1919 (Wadestown had joined the city in 1906)
• Karori (established 1891) in 1920
• Miramar (established 1904) in 1921
• Johnsonville (a Town Board from 1908), in 1953
• Tawa (a Town district from 1951, then the Tawa Flat Borough Council from 1953) in 1989

Buildings

 

Wellington Town Hall, incorporating the Mayor's Office and Council Chambers

The Wellington City Council owns and until May 2019 operated from a complex on Wakefield Street, with various extensions each representing a distinctive architectural period. The complex incorporates the Wellington Town Hall which opened in 1904, with the most recent extension completed in 1991 alongside the Wellington Central Library.

The Wakefield Street complex has been cleared of back office functions, and since 28 May 2019 will be closed completely for repairs and earthquake strengthening. In the interim, most of the council's central office staff are located in commercial premises at 113 The Terrace, and the council's public service centre is at 12 Manners Street. Due to repairs also being needed to the Wellington Central Library, and Capital E, all of the civic buildings on Civic Square are closed, except for the City Gallery.

Use of pseudoscience

In December 2019, at the New Zealand Skeptics annual conference, the Wellington City Council and the Downer Group were co-awarded the Bent Spoon by NZ Skeptics for "showing the most egregious gullibility in 2019" for the contractor's use of water divining to find underground pipes.^[27]

See also

• Wellington Region

References

Footnotes

1. Multiple councillors are elected to general wards using the single transferable vote (STV) system

Citations

1. Wellington City Council (22 April 2021). "Speaking at meetings". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
2. "Wellington region. Page 8 – From town to city: 1865–1899". TeAra.govt.nz. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
3. "Subnational population estimates (RC, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2022 (2022 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022. (regional councils); "Subnational population estimates (TA, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2022 (2022 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022. (territorial authorities); "Subnational population estimates (urban rural), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2022 (2022 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2022. (urban areas)
4. "Overview – Elections 2010 – Wellington City Council". Retrieved 10 August 2010.
5. Maclean, Chris (14 November 2012). "Branding Wellington". TeAra.govt.nz. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
6. Wellington City Council. "Council's new committee structure agreed". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
7. Wellington City Council (29 April 2021). "Council votes to include mana whenua at the meeting table". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
8. Wellington City Council (13 June 2018). "Bilingual naming of Wellington City Council wards". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
9. Campbell, Georgina (14 March 2022). "Labour announces Wellington local body election candidates". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
10. "Wellington City Council – 2022 Triennial Elections" (PDF). Wellington City Council. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
11. "Wellington City Council welcomes first female Maori councillor". 19 October 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
12. Campbell, Georgina. "Wellington city councillor Malcolm Sparrow resigns after health scare". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
13. "Local Government Act 2002 No 84 (as at 01 July 2017)". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
14. "Electoral Systems". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
15. "Tawa Community Board". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
16. "Ward maps and boundaries". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
17. "Mākara/Ōhāriu Community Board". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
18. "Coats of Arms - Local". Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
19. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Wellington City (047). 2018 Census place summary: Wellington City
20. Campbell, Georgina. "Report reveals Wellington Mayor Andy Foster's poor airport board meeting attendance". The New Zealand Herald. New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
21. Wellington City Council. "Te Pūrongo ā-Tau Annual Report 2019-2020" (PDF). Wellington City Council. p. 105. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
22. "Harrogate, England". wellington.govt.nz. Wellington City Council. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
23. "Sister Cities – Overview". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
24. "Canberra and Wellington Strengthen Ties". ACT Government. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
25. "Historical Sister Cities". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
26. "Friendly cities". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
27. "Wellington City Council wins Skeptics award after contractor divines for water". December 2019.

• A Complete Guide To Heraldry by A.C. Fox-Davies 1909.

External links

 

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Wellington City.

• WellingtonNZ.com
• Wellington City Council
• Wellington City Council maps

Coordinates: 41°17′44″S 174°46′50″E / 41.29556°S 174.78056°E / -41.29556; 174.78056