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.
Tauranga-based artist Cordula Taiwo is set to open her exhibition, "Of a Wild God," at Thistle Hall, intentionally overlapping with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Wellington concerts (Feb 5 & 6). This sophisticated body of work is a deeply personal creative response to Nick Cave’s music, his public correspondence (The Red Hand Files), and his published conversations (Faith, Hope and Carnage).
The Constable Street Stage is one of the more eclectic stages at Newtown Festival. Run by Scott Oaks and Eddy Kerr-Hislop their aim is to introduce you to many genres and different sounds. Crossing sonic boundaries we aim to showcase our carefully picked virtuosi artists from Newtown and beyond. From pop to metal, there will be […]
Break out your feather boas and waistcoats as Aro Valley Jazz Jam‘s 12 piece band takes you back to the roaring ‘20s for an evening of dancing and razzle-dazzle!
