We got a rare insight into Greater Wellington Regional Council-Wellington City Council dynamics when regional councillor Judith Aitken posted this odd statement on Celia Wade-Brown’s Facebook about her (last time I checked, fellow Labour Party) colleague Daran Ponter:
This prompted the following stinging rebuke from Daran Ponter and Wellington City councillor Paul Eagle:
Good on Ponter for calling her out. Oh, Baby Boomer with a 100% subsided Gold Card, please tell me more about how we can’t increase public transport subsidies.
This is staggering. If you’re a Regional Councillor, you would need to have been hiding under a rock for the past few years not to be aware of the issues around public transport. And you’d expect someone who has been on the GWRC since 2001 to already be discussing issues with their WCC colleagues and community stakeholders.
Aitken doesn’t even live in the constituency area she is elected to represent (Wellington City), enjoys fully subsidised public transport with her tax-payer funded Gold Card, and is one of those local government shapeshifters, like Helene Ritchie, who get elected to both a council and a health board purely on name recognition, then aren’t in a hurry to leave anytime soon.
She should retire and let a new, fresh, and forward thinking person take her seat and actually represent Wellington City. They deserve better.
The Wellington Phoenix have kickstarted their Ninja A-League season in record-breaking style. After scoring just three goals in their opening five matches, the Phoenix have recorded the biggest win in the team’s history – beating Sydney FC 7-0 at Porirua... The post Ninja A-League Round 8 Match Review appeared first on Wellington Phoenix.
Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano insists there’s “real belief” in the squad that they can turnaround their fortunes. After back-to-back defeats, the Phoenix entered the round as one of four teams, alongside Central Coast, at the foot of the... The post Isuzu UTE A-League Round 9 Match Preview appeared first on Wellington Phoenix.
Congratulations to all the members of the Academy who have graded this year. 1 mon (1 yellow stripe): Eric O’Grady, Sam Williams, Kyren Mohi-Waiariki, Joe Williams, Oliver Ye-Xu, Raffa Salisbury,... Source
We need great talent to perform, host workshops and lead our dance programme for the 2026 Wellington Folk Festival. If you’d like to be in the programme in any of these capacities (or know people who might), here is a link to our online application form: Guest applications for the 2026 Festival (23 -26 October … Continue reading Seeking guest applications for Wellyfest 2026
E-NEWS FRIDAY 19TH DECEMBER 2025 Talofa lava, we are edging ever closer to Christmas next week — just six more days until Christmas Eve and seven until Christmas Day. Last […]
