Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Pressure is mounting on Wellington Water board chairman Nick Leggett to resign, with Mayor Tory Whanau joining calls for him to go.
The Local Government Minister has called in Wellington Water for a “please explain” and sought advice on potential Government intervention.
It comes after two damning reports revealed that Wellington Water has been prioritising consultants and contractors over ratepayers.
It was also revealed that Wellington Water’s ability to detect and prevent fraud was significantly lacking reliable safeguards. One case of alleged fraud has been detected and is being investigated by police.
In a letter to the Wellington Water Committee, Whanau said the public response to the reports was one of anger and frustration.
“Public confidence in Wellington Water has been further decimated by these revelations.”
The letter, signed by Whanau and a majority of her councillors, said those responsible needed to be held to account and they do not have confidence in Leggett and board member Leanne Southey, who is responsible for audit and risk.
Whanau said they fully supported Wellington Water’s new chief executive Pat Dougherty.
“He has taken on a huge challenge and, for the first time in years, we are getting straight talking and real action to improve things at Wellington Water. We thank him for that.”
Local Government Minister Simon Watts expected to meet with Leggett early next week.
Asked whether he had confidence in Wellington Water, Watts said the company was not meeting ratepayers' expectations.
Watts said he was also seeking advice from officials on potential options the Government has to intervene.
“I’ve asked officials to advise me what powers I have, intervention powers, in regards to Wellington Water.
“Obviously, you’ll be aware I have an observer on Wellington City Council at the moment.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Wellington Water a “total basket case” when asked about the situation at his post-Cabinet press conference on Monday afternoon.
Leggett said on Monday he was considering his position and would “pause for thought”, including taking soundings from the region’s mayors.
Leggett has previously told NewstalkZB that the water company has taken action to address problems.
“Wellington Water is in a much better position now than it was when I started in the chair’s role, these things take time to evolve.”
Leggett said yesterday that none of the region’s mayors had asked him to resign directly.
He was, however, aware of public comments from Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy calling for him to go.
“The truth is, I’m a big boy and this is a political environment where people are going to say things that are sometimes not nice to hear. That’s life.
“I feel that I can hold my head up high and say to everybody that lives in Wellington that I’ve done the best and Wellington Water’s done the best by them with the information and the data that it’s had.”
On Thursday afternoon, Leggett said he had nothing further to add other than he would speak to an upcoming shareholder meeting and “go from there”.
Wellington Water is owned by the Wellington, Hutt, Porirua, and Upper Hutt city councils, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and South Wairarapa District Council.
Representatives from these councils form the Wellington Water Committee which is meeting on Monday.
The committee’s terms of reference say directors can only be appointed and removed by a unanimous resolution of shareholders.
Guppy and Whanau are the only representatives who have publicly called for Leggett’s resignation, so far.
However, South Wairarapa Mayor Martin Connelly said the majority of his councillors thought Leggett should step aside.
Leggett should seriously consider his position, he said.
Connelly said Leggett was a good person who was appointed during a difficult time for Wellington Water, including the unexpected resignation of his predecessor and the exit of the company’s longstanding chief executive.
Short-term decisions were being made at the time because it was thought Wellington Water would soon transition into a new entity under Labour’s three waters reforms, Connelly said.
But he was concerned about a perceived conflict of interest, given Leggett is also the chief executive of lobby group Infrastructure New Zealand.
Connelly also voiced concerns about Wellington Water management not taking seriously his questioning of whether councils were getting value for money.
Wellington Water Committee deputy chairwoman Ros Connelly, who is also a Greater Wellington regional councillor, said members had agreed as a collective to save the discussion for Monday.
Therefore, she declined to comment.
She said Monday’s meeting will address the contents of the reports, how to respond in the short and long term and assess ways to reassure the public.
Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said it would be “stupid” for Leggett to go.
It’s unclear what Hutt City Council’s position is at this stage and it’s understood councillors want to build a fuller picture before taking a position.
Whanau’s letter also raised concerns about the potential conflict of interest Leggett has with contractor Fulton Hogan, a member of Infrastructure New Zealand.
Fulton Hogan chief executive Ben Hayward also sits on the board of Infrastructure New Zealand.
Wellington Water’s chief executive said Leggett disclosed his role at Infrastructure New Zealand at the first opportunity.
“In relation to this latest matter, the board has discussed the possible perception of conflict around the contracting arrangements changing and it was decided that with only four directors, the chair should stay involved in accepting the reports by the CE,” Dougherty said.
“The direction taken has been about favouring the position of the company and its shareholders at all times. The chair has demonstrated this commitment at all times.”
Dougherty noted the board did not have any say or involvement in the day-to-day contract administration.
A Fulton Hogan spokeswoman said the company stood by its contracting work for Wellington Water.
She said a summary of the report’s findings showed Fulton Hogan has charged rates which are “fair and reasonable”.
“AECOM noted that if anything, they appeared somewhat low.”
Asked about whether there was a conflict, Leggett said that there is a “perceived” conflict.
“That’s significant but the board and myself have taken steps every step of the way to manage that interest.”
Leggett said he has worked in the best interest of Wellington Water and ratepayers, not anyone else.
“Infrastructure New Zealand is a membership and policy and advocacy organisation, it doesn’t advocate for the commercial interests of any of its members, it advocates for the wider system,” he said.
“There’s never been any secrets, I’ve declared my interest to the board and that’s been on the record.”
Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
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