Too Hard?
- Andrea Compton
- Aug 3
- 2 min read
Credit:Scoop Article Written by Andrea Compton 3 April 2025
The recent Churton Park Community Association AGM was attended by three Wellington City Councillors who discussed things the council was working on including the proposal for “Local Water Done Well”.
Two of councillors were from the Northern ward – Ben McNulty and John Apanowicz. The third councillor at the meeting was the leading mayoral candidate, Ray Chung.
Several good questions came from the floor about many topics, including water.
As a candidate for the Northern ward in this year’s local elections, I have been learning as much as I can about the role of a councillor and the many important issues and concerns worrying ratepayers.
I asked whether “programme management” for the WCC’s infrastructure assets was considered when the Local Water Done Well options were proposed. Such management would help ensure the council achieves efficiencies for all below and above ground infrastructure, including water, gas, fibre, roading and lighting. A combination of engineers, with IT and the use of AI, could enable this to happen.
It is my view that the WCC should “go it alone” on water, as this would help enable efficiencies and restore confidence in our ratepayers.
But it was the answer I received from Councillor Apanowicz that, in my opinion, demonstrated exactly why the council is in the position it is.
“It’s too hard,” he said.
In John’s mind, it’s apparently too hard to coordinate different entities doing work within Wellington.
Many companies that own or coordinate infrastructure assets, however, manage to do just that.
The WCC has over 2000 staff, and its infrastructure spend is over 50 per cent of the Long-Term Plan.
I suggest there is sufficient scope to instruct the WCC to align its staffing needs to its expenditure. Isn’t that governance? Decide what your core role is and align your employees to this.
If infrastructure was so important (and it is), having the right people in the right place, doing the right job, is a good place to start.
Andrea Compton is a candidate for the Northern Ward in the 2025 Election. She is a Chartered Accountant, with a strong background in infrastructure and finance.
Comments