Tory Whanau has opened up on losing a Wellington City Council spot and life after a “challenging” mayoralty, saying she is considering leaving the country.
Whanau quit the mayoral race in April to instead run for the Māori ward, but was beaten by Labour’s Matthew Reweti, who gained the high-profile endorsement of local iwi.
“The weekend was obviously a bit low,” Whanau told the Herald, but said she woke up yesterday “feeling pretty relieved”.
“I worked in a pretty toxic environment, now I don’t have to go back there, and I felt kind of excited about what could possibly be next.”
As for what that could be, Whanau said she will soon begin job hunting, but is worried about the state of the capital’s market.
“It’s most likely I will have to look elsewhere, I’ll be looking at places like Auckland and Melbourne as well.”
Whanau said she would have naturally gravitated towards a role in the public service, but the Government-induced job cuts have proved “a bit of a reality check”, and mean she will likely have to leave the city she loves.
“I will probably have to seriously consider overseas, which in itself is a good opportunity too. It certainly wouldn’t be forever, I would plan on coming back in a few years.”
Whanau said last month she had signed up to a public speaking agency, and that is something she would like to explore overseas too.
She hopes for opportunities to share her story of “courageous leadership and resilience”, as well as “policy work and advocacy around safer environments for women into leadership, helping marginalised communities, [and] indigenous issues”.
Whanau has previously lived in Melbourne and owns a home in Wellington’s Mt Cook, which she said would likely be rented out if she decided to cross the ditch.
“I would like to try and go further afield; I’d probably say the United States isn’t on the cards, I don’t know if I’d even be let in given my public statements about Trump.”
She had previously told Newstalk ZB in a 2023 interview she would “love to have a crack at being a minister” in the future and had her eye on the portfolio areas of Civil Defence, Māori Development, and Foreign Affairs.
Whanau ruled out a parliamentary bid for the 2026 General Election, instead saying 2029 was a more likely goal.
The weekend’s defeat had not changed her mind on that, Whanau said.
She also ruled out returning to Parliament to work for the Green Party as a staffer any time soon. She previously worked as the party’s chief of staff in Parliament, and while that job is open again, she won’t be putting her hand up.
“I love politics, I love our political system, and I want to contribute to public policy in the future, but I’ve left a toxic environment, I’m not that keen on going into another one because politics everywhere at the moment is very difficult.
“I’ve been working in politics for over 10 years now, and so I’d just like a bit of a break.”
The outgoing mayor has also said she has taken steps to sue some of those behind the “abuse and online violence” she has faced.
She would not be pushed on details, saying “it is with the courts and my lawyer, I’m not really able to say anything at this stage”.
A case had been filed with the Wellington District Court under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, Whanau said.
Whanau said “it was obviously a very challenging term”, but she is proud of her mayoralty achievements.
“We have the long-term plan with the highest investment in water, the enablement of more housing, and delivering more cycleways, all of those things that I’d campaigned on.”
She said she had spoken to Mayor-elect Andrew Little, and had confidence his progressive-majority council would be able to achieve good things for the city.
Voter turnout in Wellington city was 48.09%, before special votes, which Whanau said was something to be proud of.
“We retained the Māori ward very, very strongly, and we have an even more progressive council than last time, I think overall, it’s been a fantastic result for Wellington.
“I’m going to try and pop in for a coffee into his office next week, more of a handover [and] congratulations, but I don’t intend on being involved at all, I’m going to stay in my lane and just let him thrive.”
Throughout her time as mayor, Whanau alluded to her lack of experience holding office and said she would have sought to spend some time on the council if she had her time again.
Whanau, when previously self-reflecting, admitted there was “a lot of negativity” around her and she personally had become a “distraction”.
After two high-profile incidents, Whanau admitted to a drinking problem and last year was also diagnosed with ADHD.
She also courted controversy after remarking that she sold her car to pay the bills, when asked by Newstalk ZB’s Nick Mills if she felt the impacts of financial pressures on Wellingtonians.
She later pulled out of the monthly slot with Newstalk ZB.
The council’s initial failure to pass its Long Term Plan the first time around saw the Government step in with the appointment of a Crown Observer.
“I’m glad that I’m no longer going to be a distraction to some of that,” Whanau said when announcing she wouldn’t run for the top job again.
She said she cleared out the mayoral office on Friday before the election.
“Once you’re out, you’re out - so I actually won’t be going back in again.”
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.