Herald on Sunday editorial: The capital needs to stay in character

Wellington is the compact city Auckland Council would like to run. Photo / iStock

Opinion

Unnoticed by Auckland or perhaps the rest of the country, Wellington marked a milestone this year. It is 150 years since the seat of government moved there from Auckland. Just as well it did. What would be the point of Wellington without Parliament Buildings, the high roosts of senior public servants and the good shops, coffee bars and cultural events their salaries and taste sustain?

Somebody should tell Wellington to embrace its fate, not try to be anything other than the capital. Mayor Celia Wade-Brown makes a strenuous case for its wider potential on our pages today, arguing Wellington is to Auckland what Edinburgh is to Glasgow or San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Why not Washington? There is a capital that has embraced its fate in stately style. Washington would never adopt a slogan "absolutely, positively" or "Wellywood", let alone put it on the landscape for everyone to see.

People in Wellington are aware of public policy currents at a depth that interests few in Auckland. Photo / iStock

And the impression is not helped if they come into the city through the Mt Victoria tunnel. Wellington is looking shabby. The city centre is better, particularly the waterfront on a fine day. Oriental Bay has always looked superb in sunshine and the port area now converted to boardwalks and public spaces has been a lesson to Auckland.

Wellington is the compact city the Auckland Council would like to run. Two railway lines can serve most of its commuters, except after seismic shudders when it takes so long for the lines to be checked that thousands walk home. It is true, as the mayor says, that you can walk to just about any appointment there.

It is a mill town, despite its attempts to broaden its industry. The mayor says only 15 per cent of its jobs are in the public sector. It seems a lot more.

People in Wellington are aware of public policy currents at a depth that interests few in Auckland. The bigger city is the business capital and it is better for the economy that it keeps its distance from political decisions.

Wellington worries about its own economy despite having the country's highest average income, thanks to public service salaries.

It wants to be a high-tech hub (who doesn't?) and it has noticed it has more women in ICT than most rivals. "The most feminist tech ecosystem in the world," the mayor suggests.

Wellington is what it is, a place of serious policy-making and political debate. It is too windy and its topography feels too confining to match Auckland's attractions. Population numbers and house prices speak for themselves. But the capital has character of its own and we love it.