Category: Wellington City

Backlash Grows Towards Wellington’s New “Tiaki Wai” Water Company: May 2026 Media Coverage

May 31, 2026 | Amalgamation, Contractors, Core Services, Council Funding, Council Spending, Greater Wellington Region, Hutt City, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, News, Opinion, Pollution, Porirua City, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City

LGNZ holds annual conference and engages in propaganda war with Taxpayers’ Union

Jul 31, 2025 | Buller District, Christchurch City, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Far North District, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Invercargill City, Kapiti Coast District, LGNZ, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Palmerston North City, Petitions, Porirua City, Professional Managerial Class, Protest, Rangitīkei District, Rates Increases, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Upper Hutt City, Voting Record, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Wellington City, Whanganui District

2025 Local Government Elections

Jun 30, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Buller District, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Dunedin City, Elections, Far North District, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Invercargill City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Rangitīkei District, Taking Action, Upper Hutt City, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Wellington City, Whanganui District

OPINION: Six Major Reasons to Oppose Road Pricing

Apr 22, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Christchurch City, Consultation, Council Debt, Council Funding, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Internet of Things, Law and Legislation, Mode Shift, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Petitions, Protest, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Surveillance, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Toll Roads, Transport and Roading, Wellington City

OPINION: Serious Mismanagement and Lack of Accountability with Water Services

Mar 31, 2025 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Kaipara District, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Protest, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Water Meters, Wellington City

OPINION: Is Removing Water Services from Rates an Existential Threat to Councils?

Mar 31, 2025 | Auckland City, Core Services, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Flood Risk, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Three Waters, Water Meters, Wellington City

OPINION: Breaking the Spending Addiction

Feb 26, 2025 | Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities, Cities and Regions, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, LGFA, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Wellington City

Wellington Water CCO: November-December 2024 Media Coverage

Dec 21, 2024 | Contractors, Core Services, Council Funding, Council Spending, Greater Wellington Region, Hutt City, News, Opinion, Porirua City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

Wellington City

OPINION: The Slippery Slope is a Strategy, not a Fallacy

Sep 3, 2024 | Article, Auckland City, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Internet of Things, Mode Shift, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Professional Managerial Class, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Surveillance, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Transport and Roading, Wellington City

By John McDonald (CityWatch NZ Editor and 2024 Hamilton East Ward By-election Candidate) With the...

Wellington City

Backlash Grows Towards Wellington’s New “Tiaki Wai” Water Company: May 2026 Media Coverage

Wellington Water is in the process of being converted into a new water company CCO named “Tiaki...

Additional Posts

October 2025 Coverage of S&P’s “New Zealand Water Reforms Don’t Guarantee Rating Relief For Local Councils” Report

Oct 31, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Dunedin City, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Infrastructure, Invercargill City, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

Summary In late October 2025, S&P Global published a Scenario Analysis titled New Zealand...

Q & A: The Single Transferable Vote (STV) System in Local Elections 2025

Jun 30, 2025 | Article, Cities and Regions, Dunedin City, Elections, Far North District, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City

What is STV? Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a voting system implemented in a number of councils...

Consultation Closes 27 April 2025: “Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill”

Apr 1, 2025 | Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities, Consultation, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Global Agendas, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Internet of Things, Invercargill City, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, Mode Shift, Nelson City, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Surveillance, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Toll Roads, Transport and Roading, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City

The Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill is currently before...

Consultations April 2025: “Local Water Done Well” Water Service Reforms

Mar 31, 2025 | Christchurch City, Cities, Consultation, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Porirua City, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

There are “Local Water Done Well” consultations running at councils around the country with many...

Minister of Local Government Reassigned in January 2025

Feb 27, 2025 | Government Organisations, Law and Legislation, New Zealand Issues, News, Parliament, Taking Action, Transport and Roading, Wellington City

In the January 2025 Cabinet reshuffle, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown was reassigned and...

CITYWATCH NZ

Category: Wellington City

Backlash Grows Towards Wellington’s New “Tiaki Wai” Water Company: May 2026 Media Coverage

Wellington Water CCO: January-March 2026 Media Coverage

Newsroom article: “Ratepayers rout mayors who imposed big rises”

OPINION: LGNZ is Confusing Myth and Truth (Part 2)

OPINION: LGNZ is Confusing Myth and Truth (Part 1)

LGNZ holds annual conference and engages in propaganda war with Taxpayers’ Union

2025 Local Government Elections

OPINION: Six Major Reasons to Oppose Road Pricing

OPINION: Serious Mismanagement and Lack of Accountability with Water Services

OPINION: Is Removing Water Services from Rates an Existential Threat to Councils?

OPINION: Breaking the Spending Addiction

Wellington Water CCO: November-December 2024 Media Coverage

Wellington City

OPINION: The Slippery Slope is a Strategy, not a Fallacy

Stuff Article: Why are councils considering rates hikes of 25.5% and higher?

OPINION: Breaking the Spending Addiction

The Spinoff and The Post cover a planned $55 million project to install five raised crossings in Wellington

Open Invitation for Candidate Opinion Pieces

Wellington City

Backlash Grows Towards Wellington’s New “Tiaki Wai” Water Company: May 2026 Media Coverage

Wellington Water CCO: January-March 2026 Media Coverage

Consultation Closes 27 February 2026: “Inquiry into the 2025 Local Elections”

Consultation Closes on 20 January 2026: “Simplifying Local Government” Proposed Reforms of Regional Councils

Newsroom article: “Ratepayers rout mayors who imposed big rises”

Additional Posts

October 2025 Coverage of S&P’s “New Zealand Water Reforms Don’t Guarantee Rating Relief For Local Councils” Report

Q & A: The Single Transferable Vote (STV) System in Local Elections 2025

Consultation Closes 27 April 2025: “Land Transport Management (Time of Use Charging) Amendment Bill”

Consultations April 2025: “Local Water Done Well” Water Service Reforms

Minister of Local Government Reassigned in January 2025

Major topics

Cities

Regions

What can we do?

CityWatch NZ