Why students should campaign for the mayor

by Pierson Palmer Local government plays an outsized role in the life of Wellington students, but their involvement in its processes doesn’t reflect this. We must change that, so I want to lay out a case for why it’s in the students’ interest to campaign for the re-election of the mayor and a left-wing majority.

Campuses around the world can broadly be divided into two categories. There is your traditional campus and your city campus.

Imagine a stereotype of a university campus. Tree-lined quads, old brick buildings, but most importantly a kind of self-contained town. Walkable, and catering entirely to the needs of students and staff.

A good local example of a traditional campus is Massey’s in Palmerston North. At these universities, if you want your campus improved, for the most part, you talk to the administration.

City campuses on the other hand are far more beholden to the urban landscape they occupy. They substitute the campus-town vibe for the benefits of being at the heart of a city. The student experience on a city campus is inextricably linked with the quality of amenities, transport, and housing in the urban area.

Victoria University is a textbook case. Our facilities are spread throughout the CBD and inner suburbs, the city ties them together. If we want to improve the student experience in Wellington, Local Government should be the first port of call.

I, for one, love Wellington as a campus. Students make up almost 10% of our city’s population, a remarkable figure. It is fairly walkable, close to nature, and filled with culture. This is for the most part in spite of decisions made by our local body representatives. For at least 20 years, the custodians of our beautiful city campus, the Wellington City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, have been doing a pretty terrible job. Our basic infrastructure is crumbling, our bus network is only just getting back up to an acceptable standard of service, our library and entertainment venues are closed, and housing is beyond expensive. All of these issues are well documented but their effects are felt most heavily by students, who rely on council services more as a typically lower income group.

Our campus requires investment. At the last local elections, we elected a Mayor who agrees.

A useful way to make sense of Tory Whanau’s time in office is to turn back the clock a bit. For decades, a series of mayors spent their terms instituting fiscal austerity at the whims of ratepayers. Councils would raise rates as little as possible with no regard for the rising expenditure needed to fulfil council services.

All you need to do is take a stroll around Te Aro to see the effects of these decisions. Our city looks pretty similar to 20 years ago, just more decrepit. A damning indictment of our supposedly global capital. This rot becomes even for apparent when you compare it to other cities. Auckland has seen major investments in its transportation infrastructure, pedestrianisation, and urban renewal. The Auckland CBD has arguably surpassed Wellington’s in quality as a result. Auckland is investing in the kinds of projects that grow cities and their tax base. Te Hā Noa, the Queen Street pedestrianisation, and the eastern busway just to name a few. These are the kinds of council projects that will draw investment to our city, to our campus.

There is an interesting trend around the world of politicians nuking their political careers by becoming the mayor of a big city. See any mayor of New York or Chicago since the beginning of time. The reasons for this are fairly similar no matter where you are. Local Government is burdened with huge governance responsibility. Without the tools, institutions, or money to fulfil those responsibilities effectively.

By global standards, Wellington isn’t a big city, but we’re struggling with the same issues. Our mayors have had a way of attracting bad press and the ire of the populace like no other elected official. Whanau has not escaped the curse.

Despite recent moderate improvements, our local body politicians have dismal approval ratings. We’re about a year out from the election, and the mayor already has competition – both candidates are running to undo most of the programs supported by the mayor. So what has she done that has made them so mad?

Tory Whanau entered office with no money and a crumbling city. What has made her short tenure so impressive is her commitment to the rapid change she promised, despite overwhelming pressure to “focus on the basics”. She bit the bullet and spent up on water to the tune of $1.8 billion over 10 years. Compared to past councils that were beholden to the low-rates, localist mindset that caused the underinvestment problem.

Whanau has managed to pass a historic District Plan, enabling amounts of new housing at a proportion unprecedented in the English-speaking world given our size. She saw through the Independent Hearing Panel on housing’s dodgy findings and stuck with the large base of economic evidence showing this will ease pressures on house prices and rent in the medium to long term. She has remained steadfast in her commitment to the cycle network – which has been rolling out at incredible speed for bargain prices – and she continues efforts to pedestrianize the golden mile, something sure to kickstart urban renewal.

It’s not hard to imagine the council of 15 years ago giving up completely on these programs given the rhetorical pressure they’ve been under. She has even ramped up the Council’s social housing program, which recently almost doubled its supply. It’s refreshing, after years of local politics hamstrung by a commitment to low rates.

Wellington is not unique in its issues, but we have been outstanding in our response. Sensible policy changes backed by economic evidence, unprecedented investment in the renewal of infrastructure, and a transition towards a more balanced, budget-friendly transit mode-share. It’s a game plan that’s worked in struggling cities around the world.

Whanau’s bike-lane initiative is reminiscent of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo’s wildly successful tactical urbanism campaign in a city once choked with traffic the way Wellington is today.

Her commitment to increasing the share of social housing could one day make Welly the Vienna of the southern hemisphere. The Mayor’s insistence on removing character restrictions and rezoning inner suburbs will one day leave Wellington with an urban fabric similar to that of the most successful global cities. The reality is that if you want a city that is sustainable both financially and environmentally, you have to build it. We must build neighbourhoods that create wealth – both for the people who live in them, and for the Council. It is possible, we already have a few. Whanau knows we need more.

The mayor has re-written the zoning rule book to make higher-density development – the only kind practical in our land-constrained city – a reasonable path forward for developers. She’s declared the city open for business. The flow-on effects of this for students can be hard to imagine right now, but evidence shows we can expect a large uptick in the consent and construction of housing suited to student living, (apartments and townhouses) in the places we want to live.

They’re not done: before the election, the Mayor and her majority will have the opportunity to change our tax system to further free up Wellington’s land market, incentivise development, and provide a rates cut to the average household, those who truly need it.

She has also lobbied the government for legislative solutions to enable congestion charging, something the minister will hopefully act on soon.

Her administration has correctly identified what is ailing our city, and is listening to experts on the best ways to fix it. What has enabled her success is a majority who have – with a few exceptions – consistently supported her agenda, and have at times pushed her to go further.

Our city campus increasingly feels like a retirement village. Stuck in amber at the whims of those who still think it’s reasonable to park their Land Rovers on Lambton Quay. The services we rely on – housing, public transport, libraries, and public spaces – can all be found in an arguably better state in other cities. Something that helps explain Vic’s enrolment troubles. Life for the students of Wellington is only just turning a corner thanks to the Mayor’s agenda. Many of these wins may not eventuate if she doesn’t win a second term.

If, like me, you want to see a city that reflects your values, and allows for a low-carbon lifestyle. If you want a cheap, healthy home close to work and school, and a transport system that doesn’t make you feel like a second-class citizen: vote to re-elect the Mayor and her majority. Should they run, re-elect Laurie Foon, Ben McNulty, Teri O’Neill, Rebecca Matthews, Nīkau Wi Neera, and all the councillors who have broadly supported change.

They will face a tough fight. Those who have shepherded Wellington into its current malaise have been quick to pin it on the current administration despite the problems festering for decades. If housing advocate Geordie Rogers’ incredibly close election to the Council proves anything, it’s that every vote counts in these races.

Whanau has a good record to run on, but people need to hear it. If we hope to propel her to a second term, students must convey that message. The alternative is we go back to our city being managed like a sleepy provincial town with more interest in preserving its decaying aesthetic than building something better. The only way forward is to grow and grow well!

Pierson Palmer is the Academic Vice-President at VUWSA, a law student, and an advocate for a better Wellington.