Wellington: A rough diamond or cot-case?
- Graham Bloxham
It feels like our city is rotting.
The other day a good mate of mine in Fiji asked “Whats up Blox? Hows Welly? I’m coming back in next few weeks.”.
Hows Welly? Well, I laid it out for him.
“Ogh u know mate, not much going on, lovely clear ‘no wind’ day in paradise. Warm but not as warm as Feegee.
And…..
Shootings in downtown Welly, 80+ King Cobras roaming lower Dixon St with guns, looking for the shooter vengeance.
Housing and cost of living crises and meth sales in plain site in Willis St by young people who head back to their Ustay apartment in Dixon st funded by government.
Car park theft all over Wellington forcing households and elderly to park their cars 700m from home making them haul their groceries.
LGWM out of control run by another of the 17,000 new consultants in our cool little capital. Years passed and millions spent with little to show but a flashy website.
NZs 1st Zebra crossing on state highway 1 acting as a speed bump to our international airport.
CO2 emitting trucks carrying excrement from Moa Point to the landfills costing rate payers 7M a day.
Rates hikes on property owners and households like never before.
A bunch of well meaning people hell bent on spending 300M on cycle lanes that were opposed by 93% of the people. Killing retail and forcing cars to drive to Porirua, Queensgate, and the mighty Upper Hutt. Causing more CO2 to be emitted and more cyclists to be run over.
A town hall that was budgeted to be 50M that is now 200M and English contractors in there saying it could have been done at half the price. Our current mayor says 200M is a good investment.
A city with no leader or identity any more.
There’s an election in 5 months. A new mayor in hiding, who word has it is swapping his seat with a current city councilor.
A current mayor waiting to see what man in hiding does. Who may carry on if mayor in waiting doesn’t announce, as no one seems to give a shit.
But that’s just some of it. While you’re sipping your cocktails WCC just announced the new Library spend of over 200M. Saying it’s now a historic building that is only 30 years old, all when the city is in the shit.
The closing of Lambton Quay, Willis st and Courtenay Place for the exclusive use of Diesel buses further killing bars and retail.
Our drains are decimated. Water not chlorinated, but that was a mistake so that’s ok.
Land owners facing the perfect storm of levies, rates up 300%, seismic compliance delays of 18 months coupled with WCC pressure, insurance up 400% and covid tennent issues.
A 660M budget at WCC that could be 550M and a marketing team WellingtonNZ. The marketing arm calling us the coolest little capital in the world which I think we are.
You know mate, not much really! 
But on the bright side we now have our lawn back at Parliament, your mates at the national party are flush and we have a new road to Foxton so not all that bad bro.
See you soon 
“
“Despite it all I love Wellington and know we can right the ship. Don’t forget it’s an election in 5 months so all us rate payers get to have our say!
By Graham Bloxham
