The last thing you should do, if your city is gridlocked with traffic, is get a Green MP involved. Unfortunately, this inept government has an associate transport minister who is also a Green MP. Anyone with a modicum of sense would know that this is not going to work. The Greens will die in a ditch to force people to walk, cycle or use public transport, but as Wellington is a hilly city, walking and cycling are not practical for everyone and the bus system is a total disaster. The Greens won’t care if no one can get to work on time, but everyone else does. And the worst thing about the Greens is that they may be driven entirely by ideology, but they cannot even be honest about it.
Wellington’s Labour mayor and the Associate Transport Minister have been accused of putting party politics before Wellingtonians’ transport needs.
And now the gloves have come off as the mayor and local politicians face-off about who is telling the truth, with one councillor telling Wellington Mayor Justin Lester to take a look in the mirror over his recollection.
I cannot imagine why anyone is surprised at this. Justin Lester has strong Labour party affiliations and acts like a member of the Green party in a lot of issues. What did anyone expect?
Just released OIA documents now reveal one conversation that did take place on May 21, 2019 between Lester and Onslow-Western ward councillors Diane Calvert, Andy Foster and Simon Woolf.
My, my. An OIA document that hasn’t been redacted to the point of being useless? Someone slipped up rather badly there, didn’t they?
A transcript of a text message dialogue between Lester and Calvert shows the mayor offered to sit down with her and personally answer all her questions, but she said it would be more helpful to sit down with all the ward councillors instead.
The documents say the informal meeting took place after a council meeting and relays official recollections of their discussions.
Calvert recalls councillors were told by the mayor that it was the best deal he could obtain, otherwise the Greens would walk away from the coalition.
I am trying to figure out exactly why this would be a bad thing? It would never happen, of course. People like JAG, James Shaw, Jan Logie or Golriz would walk away from their lucrative positions as MPs because Wellington City Council wanted to build a tunnel?
Of course not. If they were prepared to bring the government down over a second Mt Victoria Tunnel, then so be it. But Justin Lester is a dyed-in-the-wool leftie. Obviously, JAG knew how to push his buttons.
And this guy is the Mayor of Wellington. Good grief.
Woolf said the meeting, which was a result of their disappointment on the LGWM outcome, was cordial, free and frank.
“The mayor was concerned that all three of us had been outspoken on the indicative LGWM package. He felt that was potentially damaging to gain an acceptable outcome,” the OIA states.
On Wednesday, Lester said he stood by his previous statement, saying he never talked about the Greens or the coalition – but he would not go as far as calling his colleagues liars.
The three “conservative” councillors were bending the truth and seeking to “undermine for their own political benefit,” he said.
When asked if they were lying, he said: “I am not commenting on what they say, their recollection is different from mine.”
In other words, they were not lying.
On Wednesday, Stuff saw a full transcript of Woolf’s official correspondence with OIA officials – that included the references to the Greens and Genter at two meetings.
“I am not a lair (SIC) […]he [Lester] has to look at himself in the mirror,” Woolf said. “He absolutely, 100 per cent mentioned her name. There is no confusion on my part.”
STUFF
Justin Lester seems confused as to exactly what the reasons for turning down the second tunnel were, but that is not unusual for those with a Labour leanings. Jacinda seems to be confused about everything, and Grant Robertson simply refuses to say anything about what he knows. These guys are masters of obfuscation.
Justin Lester is a mere apprentice by comparison, but one thing is clear. He is not acting in the best interests of the city of Wellington. Come on Wellingtonians. Let’s get rid of these idiots before our city is totally destroyed.