Podcast appearances and mentions of wellington water

Tom discusses the latest events in Te Whanganui-a-Tara including local government update and the missing Wellington Water report.

Former Labour leader and Cabinet minister Andrew Little finally announced this week he is running to be the city's mayor. Is he automatically the hot favourite? Also, we learnt this week that Wellington Water received a report in 2021 outlining many of the concerns around spending identified in the most recent report. But this report was seemingly lost - or ignored. How on earth does this happen? To answer those questions, Nick was joined by former Porirua mayor and Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett, and Iron Duke Partners senior consultant Maddy Burgess Smith for Thursday Faceoff, ahead of a long Easter weekend. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Water's boss is defending spending ratepayer money on skincare for staff and mindfulness workshops. The under-fire agency has confirmed it spent more than $10,000 on wellbeing workshops in the recent financial year - including nutritionists and skin checks. Chief Executive Pat Dougherty says it's important to be a caring employer. "Good staff are hard to find - you'll want to attract them and keep them." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A and Thomas Scrimgeour from the Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Wellington Water has copped backlash over spending significant amounts on wellness-based perks for their employees. What do we make of this? Former Labour leader Andrew Little has announced his intention to run for mayor of Wellington. Is this a good move? Will he get votes? The Maori Party wants Maori to get NZ Super 7-10 years before everyone else and Labour is refusing to say whether it would agree. The Greens are on board with giving some parts of society Super earlier. Is this the best look? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom updates Kathryn on the latest issues in Wellington including the controversy surrounding Wellington Water, the Crown observer's latest report, the council's proposed plan to charge commercial rates to short term rentals like Airbnb, and the upcoming local body elections.

I sort of hinted at this the other day when the monitor for the Wellington City Council put out his second report. My question was, given there was leaking and dysfunction and the punter was at their wits end, what now for Wellington? Do we just get more reports? Well, lo and behold, another Wellington operation has their own monitor in the form of the Commerce Commission who have been brought in to oversee the mess at Wellington Water. The Minister has not seen any improvement, there's been no real change and unless stuff happens, there are rate rises galore for no real gain. So once again we can ask, what do the Commerce Commission do? Do they write reports too? If those reports tell us the place is still a shambles, how many reports does it take for someone, somewhere, to actually fire up a bit of action? I can also add, and this is an overarching observation, just how dysfunctional does Wellington need to get before it literally implodes on itself? The electorate changes last week were all in Wellington. Why? Because people have left and, to be frank, who can blame them? Then we come to Tamatha Paul, who made what most observers seemed to suggest was one of the most extraordinary comments about police anyone had ever heard. Her good friends in Labour called them stupid. The Prime Minister called her insane. Yet she holds an electorate. The good people of Wellington central, and by no small margin I might add, looked at her credentials and decided they liked her enough to vote for her. So Wellington, what's the story? What level of madness and dysfunction are you willing to tolerate before change comes? Is change ever coming? Do you actually want change? Do you mind paying a lot more than you need to for stuff that doesn't work? Is a crummy council, a lot of broken pipes and a mad MP OK, as long as your cycleways are fun to ride on? Oh, did I mention the trains? You can't beat Wellington on a good day. When, Wellington, was your last good day and why are you putting up with it? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is calling in the Commerce Commission to help fix Wellington's water issues. This means Wellington Water will have to report details of its financial management to the Commerce Commission, and the commission will make sure that Wellington ratepayers aren't getting ripped off. How exactly are they going to do it? Local Government Minister Simon Watts talks to Ryan Bridge about the details. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Friday, 28 March 2025, the Government's called in the Commerce Commission to deal with concerns with Wellington Water's management. How does the government feel about stomping up money for Auckland's Eden Park? Royal correspondent Juliet Rieden speaks to Ryan Bridge about King Charles' hospital admission after cancer treatment side effects. Plus, Ryan reveals his gardening faux pas and why someone tried to steal his lawnmower. Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul is under fire for her comments at a 'radical alternative to policing event'. She claimed "Wellington people do not want to see police officers everywhere" and all beat police do is "wait for homeless people to leave their spot, pack up their stuff and throw it in the bin". Are these comments out of touch, or reflecting a mood in the city? Also, the Commerce Commission will be tasked with keeping an eye on Wellington Water until a new water entity comes into force. Is this the right move? To answer those questions, Wellington City Councillor Tim Brown and Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry joined Nick Mills for Friday Faceoff. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Water Chair Nick Leggett says he's not going anywhere. The mayors of Wellington and Upper Hutt - Tory Whanau and Wayne Guppy - both say they have no confidence in him. A recent critical report found the organisation was potentially wasting millions of dollars on infrastructure contracts. Leggett says he'd like Wellington to transition to a different water entity. "That owns its own assets, can raise money off those assets and get good value for the money it spends and get them replaced as soon as possible." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OPINION What is it with Prime Ministers from Auckland giving us a bad rap? First it was John Key telling us we were dying. He of course was right - he just got his decades wrong. Now we have Christopher Luxon calling us "lame-o". I haven't heard that phrase since the 90s, but that aside, he's dead right. Why? Well last year the government announced it would be offering councils the opportunity to sign up to what they called 'regional deals'. These would be a 10 year plans based on a 30 year visions which would provide a range of options for funding. Maybe toll roads, maybe a new train line, a new tunnel. Whatever it might be, the idea was to try to help the regions with the high cost of infrastructure and unlock a bit more productivity. It's a great idea. The government invited councils across the country to come up with ideas by the end of February from which it would select five regions to put forward for more in depth proposals and eventually a truckload of cash. Basically this was free cash for a big idea. It was a very good opportunity for Wellington. But guess what... we didn't even suggest anything. Eighteen proposals were submitted last month but none were from the Wellington region. Well Prime Minister Christopher Luxon didn't like that. That's where the lame-o comment came from. Luxon said every other region has been able to work together for the last six months while Wellington hasn't even shown up with a proposal.. Chris Hipkins even criticised our councils too. He said our councils need to get it together. What this really demonstrates to me is that our councils simply can't work together. How often have we said we need a super city? How often do we discuss the fact that our Mayors are not all on same page? Look at Wellington Water. They couldn't keep track of all these cost blowouts and they couldn't agree on whether to sack chair Nick Leggett. And now we find they can't agree on what is essentially free money for a big project. The rest is history, well not quite history. The name calling isn't stopping.. Wellington mayor Tory Whanau said the comments were “poor form” for a Prime Minister. "With due respect Prime Minister we will deliver a deal it'll just be on our time frame. We are determined to get this right," Whanau said. Why does she think its the council's job to dictate timeframes to a government wanting to dish out free cash? Apparently they were told by the Crown observer to concentrate on their water issues and not to put a submission together. Because its really clear our councils have been focused on water.... come on. Whoever you want to listen to, it's clear the relations between the government and Wellington councils have sunk to a new low. They keep trading jabs. What is it with the Wellington region? Why is it that they can't work together for something as simple as putting a proposal together to get some money from the government? And why do we have to keep talking about combining Porirua, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Wellington into one council? If ever we needed confirmation that this is required for us to grow it's this week. No unanimous decision on the future of Wellington Water and no discussion to submit something to the government's regional deals. These deals were quite literally money for nothing and we didn't even want it. Frankly we are lame-o for not grasping that with both hands. This just confirms to me how desperately we need one council. One council table to take the region forward, not four. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts has called in Wellington Water for a “please explain” and sought advice on potential Government intervention. What could intervention look like, and is it likely? Also, Kiwirail is laying off more than 200 workers as the organisation tries to find savings. What does this mean for the state owned enterprise? NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joined Nick Mills for the Capital Letter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Water's Board Chair is has held on to his job for now after Monday's extraordinary meeting with the water company's leadership group. Reporter Nick James spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Wellington Water's boss says local councils have every right to be angry at them. Tory Whanau yesterday described her council's relationship with the organisation as “tense” at a special meeting, following revelations last week it wasn't getting value for ratepayers' money. Wellington Water CEO Pat Dougherty told Mike Hosking he and his staff are doing everything they can to find the issues and fix them. He says there's been a culture of putting too much trust in their contractors, and he wants a more tense and accountable relationship. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leaders in the Wellington region will discuss the future of the Wellington Water Board Chair on Monday at an extraordinary meeting. Councillor Nikau Wi Neera spoke to Corin Dann.

Wellington's mayor, and most of the city councillors, called for the Wellington Water board chair to resign last week in the wake of two scathing reports. Councillors will discuss the future of Nick Leggett at an extraordinary meeting on Monday. Councillor Diane Calvert spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Porirua mayor Anita Baker says the proposed `kangaroo court' targeted at the Wellington Water chair is a disgrace. 

Wellington's Mayor Tory Whanau and the majority of the city's councillors have called for Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett to resign over what they call severe failings and 'millions of dollars wasted'.

This week the Gals talk about marmite sandwiches, faster GP appointments, sexy infrastructure, and the Great Resignation of 2025.   Yass Queen to some new research, but mainly to Georgie's potty mouth, and Beehive Mate to the Chair of Wellington Water.   Question Time: Can NZ have motions of no confidence in Prime Ministers?

A scathing report into the management of Wellington Water has found the organisation is paying up to three times as much for unplanned pipe maintenance as comparable councils in NZ - so how did this happen, and how will the region's councils respond? Also, the government has released a tranche of documents into the work to replace the Interislander ferries. What do the documents reveal? NZ Herald Wellington issues reporter Georgina Campbell joined Nick Mills for the Capital Letter. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are calls for Wellington Water's boss to resign as the embattled organisation faces the prospect of legal action. The fallout from two scathing reports into the water provider is coming thick and fast after they found the region's ratepayers are being charged three times as much for water repairs as other areas of the country. Wellington issues reporter Nick James reports.

On today's episode, Donald Trump is set to address a joint session of congress where he'll outline his agenda on immigration, the economy, and his approach to Ukraine, Ukraine President Vlodymyr Zelensky has released a statement in response to Donald Trump's withdrawal of US military aid, and the fallout from damning Wellington Water reports is ramping up.

The fallout from damning Wellington Water reports is ramping up. Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy, Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi, and Wellington City councillor Ben McNulty spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Wellington Water released a scathing report on Monday pointing, among other things, to poor value for money from contractors. Civil Contractors New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard spoke to Corin Dann.

The Corrections Minister says a report on prison culture doesn't say anything the Government doesn't already know. The report from Independent Research Solutions says the influence of gangs in prison has grown significantly in the past decades, with non-members lower in the social hierarchy. It finds 35% of inmates are in voluntary segregation. Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking prisons are a microcosm of society, and gangs are known for their intimidation tactics in the community. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is growing anger in Wellington over revelations the capital's ratepayers have been paying nearly three times more for water repairs than in other parts of the country. 

Treasury's chief economist gives a house price prediction, while a relatively unknown Canadian billionaire is taking a larger stake in NZ Herald's listed owner NZME. Dan also discusses Trump's crypto plays and how Wellingtonians ended up paying three times what other regions are paying for water repairs.

Wellington Water board Chair admits the relationship between the organisation and its contractors got too friendly. The comments follow a scathing report, showing the the cost of unplanned water pipe repairs in the Wellington region is three times higher than in other regions. A probe has uncovered poor value for money from contractors, loose financial controls and even one case of alleged theft. Bill Hickman reports.

On today's episode, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says New Zealand is standing up for the international rules-based order in supporting Ukraine and that position hasn't changed, the government is promising a $285 million "uplift" that will bring in a hundred new foreign-trained doctors into the primary care workforce, an urgent meeting of the Advisory Oversight Committee has been called for Tuesday morning to discuss Monday's scathing report on Wellington Water, and Neon's low budget film Anora and filmmaker Sean Baker ruled the night at the 97th Academy Awards, winning five trophies.

An urgent meeting of the Advisory Oversight Committee has been called for Tuesday morning to discuss Monday's scathing report on Wellington Water. Wellington Water board chairperson Nick Leggett spoke to Alexa Cook.

An urgent meeting is being held in Wellington to look at Monday's highly critical report into Wellington Water. Reporter Nick James spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The Upper Hutt Mayor says it was obvious the region's water agency was ripping off ratepayers for a long time. Report findings show a lack of oversight meant Wellington Water was paying nearly three times more to contractors for pipe work, compared with in other areas. Board Chair Nick Leggett says it means millions of ratepayer dollars wasted. Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy says Leggett must resign. He told Mike Hosking his council smelt a rat for years, but their concerns fell on deaf ears. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chair of Wellington Water says he's considering stepping down, after a scathing report uncovered more organisational failures. It highlights a lack of oversight in contracting work, with pipe maintenance work paid at nearly three times the comparable council rate. Nick Leggett says he'll step down if the region's mayors want him to but he has acted on the issues in question. "What we've tried to do is lift the lid on that - be honest and upfront. There wasn't the right competitive tension to get the best value for ratepayers, the internal systems for the organisation, the financial checks - those kind of processes were appalling." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast for Tuesday 4th of March 2025, The new Health Minister's begun making moves to try save our deteriorating healthcare system, Genpro Chair Dr Angus Chambers tells Andrew Dickens how big of a difference it will make. Councils in Wellington are furious with a new scathing report into Wellington Water, Porirua Mayor Anita Baker shares a plan for how to move forward. Good news for the Aquaculture sector, the Government is Putting almost twelve million dollars into salmon farming. Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio shares the latest on the prominent ex football player joining a class action against the AFL - alleging racial abuse. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Questions over the future of Wellington Water's chairman, with calls for him to go after troubling findings within the organisation. A scathing review has found poor procurement processes, potential for fraud, and a serious lack of value for money. Board chair Nick Leggett says if the region's mayors ask him to go, he will, but thinks he's taken good action on the issues. Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says he doesn't need to go. She told Andrew Dickens they're a year out from water reforms and him and Pat Dougherty are working exceptionally well together to achieve them. Baker says she doesn't see the point. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OPINION We were warned a report was coming out on Wellington Water. Not even people in the media or on our councils thought the report was going to be this scathing. There is a lot of shock around Wellington right now. And we've always suspected it, but now we know just how bad Wellington Water has been managing our pipes and our money. The entire report can be summed up in two lines. The first; we are being fleeced. The second; the management of Wellington Water has sat back and allowed it to happen. The headline out of this report is that ratepayers in the region are paying nearly three times more for unplanned pipe maintenance compared to other cities like Hamilton and Christchurch. Three times more. And no one seemed to bat an eyelid. Contractors have been creaming it because the management of Wellington Water is clearly just spraying money around. All while our rates skyrocket, almost solely because of the huge sums we're told need to be invested in water. And the crazy thing is, we don't know how much this fleecing has cost us. Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett said yesterday it's in the millions - but we don't know any more than that. And it's not just about the cost. The report also highlights a lack of oversight and the possibility for staff to commit fraud. One alleged case of fraud has been found, with Police now investigating. At the centre of all this is Wellington Water's chairman, Nick Leggett, who has apologised and is now “pausing for thought” about whether he stays in his job. Leggett admits that Wellington Water has failed to deliver value for money and acknowledges that concerns raised by staff and council shareholders were not listened to sooner. But is an apology enough? I'm not going to call for Leggett to go. Let the water settle first. He's only been in the position for less than two years, but let's get to the bottom of what's happened first. Some are calling for him to go; Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy has been direct, saying "heads have got to go". But Porirua Mayor Anita Baker has pushed back, calling talk of resignations “absolutely stupid” and praising Leggett and new CEO Pat Dougherty for driving changes. And let's be honest, this is an issue that goes way beyond Nick Leggett or the current leadership. This has been happening for years. We have been fleeced for years. Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has also weighed in, demanding answers from the board and leadership about how this situation was allowed to develop over such a long period. And she's right. How can something like this happen? What other organisation pays bills three times more expensive than everyone else without noticing? Why was there no deep dive earlier? Wellington Water has been in the headlines constantly. remember the fluoridation debacle? Or the $51 million budget error that slipped through the cracks? It's completely dysfunctional. And the Prime Minister said as much yesterday. “A unique corruption" he called it. And let's not forget the bigger picture here. Wellingtonians are paying the price for these failures. People are leaving this city because they can't afford it. How are those people feeling today? This is a mammoth scandal. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're told a housing boom is on the way in the capital with a new district plan allowing for more higher-density homes closer to the city. Has this made it easier to develop in Wellington, and what will it mean for house prices? Also, for the first time the Wellington City Council has responded to public concern over a cycleway project, voting to investigate reinstating carparks to Glenmore St near the Botanic Gardens. It's the fifth u-turn in a year, after the Reading Cinema deal, airport shares sale, Begonia House and Khandallah Pool. Is this the council responding to residents' concerns, or does it demonstrate they don't properly consult before making decisions? To answer those questions, as well as discussing the Golden Mile, Wellington Water and citizens arrests, Kaffe Eis owner Karl Tiefenbacher and property developer Mark Quinn joined Nick Mills for the Business Panel. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the Wellington region's busiest roads, State Highway Two through the Hutt Valley will be severely disrupted when Wellington Water digs up an aging sewerage pipe that runs under it. Nick James reports.

Wellington's Water says the risk of water restrictions this summer has diminished. But it still wants households and businesses to be careful.

Wellington City Council's 'highest-ever' investment in water infrastructure will see less than 1km of pipes replaced this year, Wellington Water claims. After a summer of leaks and taps running dry, the Council promised to increase spending on water infrastructure to address the damage. Wellington City Councillor Ben McNulty says it's up to Wellington Water to determine where that money goes. "The decision to do less than a kilometre sits very much operationally in their hands." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington water insists it's working "at pace" to keep the environmental impact of a broken sewerage pipe in Lower Hutt to a minimum. Deputy mayor of Lower Hutt Tui Lewis spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Upper Hutt's Mayor has lashed out at Wellington Water after an independent report revealed it took four months to tell the region's three councils about a 51 million dollar budgetting error. The report by consultants Roy Barker and Kevin Jenkins identified multiple failures including a lack of strategic leadership at a senior level, Nick James reports.

Wellington Water's Chair says the board's committed to improving the organisation in the wake of a scathing review.   The report looked into a $51 million blunder which saw the agency tell councils they needed less funding than they actually did.   It found a lack of leadership in the agency and issues with its organisational culture.   Nick Leggett told Heather du Plessis Allan there's lessons to be learned.  “We've got to improve the culture, we've got to elevate problems as they come up and be upfront and frank about them, and we've got to improve our systems – particularly in the finance part of the business.”  LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four months ago, Wellington Water said plumbers weren't qualified to repair the capital's water crisis.  However, it's now been revealed that they're more qualified than Wellington Water's own workforce.  Master Plumbers Chief Executive Greg Wallace told Heather du Plessis-Allan “The Workplace Development Council have agreed the NZQA standards that plumbers do, are more than what Wellington Water requires.”  Wallace said “In February, [Wellington Water] told us they had a workforce crisis, and they couldn't fix the 3,572 leaks at the time.”  He said they make things as difficult as possible. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wellington Water apologised to councils after discovering a multi-million dollar hole in its budget. The error was only spotted after most councils had already signed off on their long-term plans following a lengthy and painful debate.

Wellington Water says the region saved more than 400 million litres of water this summer thanks to the effort of locals. Wellington Water director of regulatory services Charles Barker spoke to Charlotte Cook.

The money the capital's councils are setting aside for new water pipes is not even half what Wellington Water wants for the next decade. The Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington and the regional councils have been drawing up their ten-year spending plans for the failing infrastructure. Representatives from all the councils will be meeting with the water utility company tomorrow. Reporter Nick James has been sifting through the facts and figures. 

The water watchdog says it doesn't have confidence in Wellington Water to ensure sufficient supply for the region next summer.  Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua have had water restrictions in place for the past few months, as well as a continuous threat of more severe rules. In a letter from Taumata Arowai's chief executive, local councils and Wellington Water have been asked to provide a plan outlining how they can avoid a repeat of this situation next year. That's due on Friday. Taumata Arowai's regulatory head, Steve Taylor, spoke to Morning Report.

A rāhui is in place in Porirua for the Kenepuru Stream and part of the harbour, after a wastewater pipe burst on Sunday.  Wellington Water says it is using pumps to stop overflows into the area, and has conducted a geotechnical assessment.  It expects those pumps to remain in place for the next fortnight.  Wellington Water was unavailable for an interview.  Porirua's mayor Anita Baker spoke to Corin Dann.  

There's a flood of experts with ideas on how to plug Wellington Water woes; yet the city is still hemorraghing 40% of drinkable water. Last week Master Plumbers told Checkpoint its members are qualified and available to help patch leaks in the capital, with many of the problems at toby's or isolation valves on private property. A report shows response and repair times have blown out in the capital; a patch-up that should take less than five days to do, is taking 40 days on average and staff shortages at the region's water services are stalling repairs. Now the professional assocation for Civil Contractors says there's enough of its people to do the work, but there's not enough funding being allocated. Civil Contractors New Zealand Chief Executive Alan Pollard speaks to Lisa Owen. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6346267400112