James Cameron brings titanic star power to Wellington’s ‘crisis of confidence’- A Capital Letter

Vision for Wellington says it’s a non-partisan and politically neutral group concerned about the city and its residents, who it says are experiencing a crisis of confidence.

Its members include former mayor Dame Kerry Prendergast, who is National Party-aligned, and property magnate Sir Bob Jones, who founded the right-leaning New Zealand Party in the 1980s.

The group is critical of Wellington City Council’s inability to rein in spending, infighting and perceived ideology-fuelled decision-making at the expense of residents.

Vision for Wellington has promised to facilitate expert-led panels, the first of which is taking place on Wednesday, where Cameron will share his insights.

“I could live anywhere in the world but my family and I chose this city”, Cameron said in a December press release advertising the event.

“I’ll be a New Zealand citizen in a couple [of] months – and we’re here to stay. My children love it here and are thriving.

“I want the best for their future which is why I’m rolling up my sleeves and mucking in, with business leaders, innovators, and anyone really who cares about their city.”

There will be further panel discussions organised by the group, newsletters and digital polling.

Vision for Wellington founding member, Peter Biggs, has said local democracy does not start and finish at the council table and that active civic engagement plays a vital part.

He’s not wrong but the council remains the endpoint for decisions made on behalf of the city using ratepayers' money.

It’s far easier to hold a talk about a vision than to translate those aspirations into policies that can be shepherded through the bowels of an organisation like the council.

Another former Wellington mayor (this time on the Labour Party ticket), Justin Lester, has turned his personal Facebook page into Wellington Alive to “celebrate the things that make Wellington truly special”.

He chose to take aim at local media rather than the council.

“I’m a bit over the relentless negativity in our local Wellington news”, Lester wrote on Facebook when he was mulling the Wellington Alive idea.

“Our beloved capital has had a rough run lately and sometimes local media hasn’t been all that kind to us,” he said in another post.

The page features various businesses, people, and things to do in the city.

The idea news media should be “kind” and operate more like a marketing tool is wrong.

Journalism is driven by truth, objectivity and fairness. With the number of journalists increasingly thin on the ground, it’s more important than ever they focus on holding power to account.

Painting a glossy picture of Wellington over the past year would not only be offensive to the thousands who have lost their jobs and businesses, it would simply be inaccurate.

Ironically, Wellington Alive recently highlighted a bar as a great spot for Friday drinks, providing the positive content that news media allegedly isn’t.

Some of the photos were clearly taken from a Herald article but without proper attribution. The post was corrected after being contacted by the newsroom.

The Herald wrote in 2023 that a Wellington couple’s new Cuba St pub, The Ram, is a vote of confidence in a city struggling with the nagging narrative that its golden age is over.

It’s not surprising such a battle for positivity has emerged given Wellington’s many issues.

You can understand why someone who bought a house in the past five years, has started a family and works in the public sector feels they have not been able to get ahead here.

This is something made even more real by new rateable valuations that show, on average, house values have plummeted 24.4% since 2021.

Then there are the broken water pipes, dysfunctional council, disruptive earthquake-strengthening projects and closed retail and hospitality venues.

Those living elsewhere in New Zealand could be led to believe the central city is a wasteland.

But it’s also difficult to find a table for dinner on Cuba St at 7pm on a Saturday without a booking. Puffin has a delightful cheese toastie on the menu as a Plan B or a sun-drenched parklet, if you make it there early enough.

Regent is one of several new bars that have opened recently which has incredible views from a perfectly-positioned balcony. The vibe is palpable.

Light House Cinema was packed one Monday night in January for a viewing of Conclave.

The line for ice cream on the waterfront stretched so far the other day that it was difficult to justify the wait on one’s lunch break.

Hidden gems can be found in the suburbs, such as like the pop-up wood fire Scenic Sauna at Worser Bay where the water is still cold enough in summer to make for an invigorating plunge.

It’s difficult to have this experience of living in Wellington, both the bad and the good, and agree with some commentators that the life has been completely sucked out of it.

Photos of the city on a good day are nice to look at and “participatory place-making” sounds important but many Wellingtonians probably operate somewhere in the middle of a spectrum that spans from gloom to absolutely positively Wellington.

They recognise the city isn’t at its best but know what they love about it – whether that’s its compactness, inclusivity, quirkiness or sweeping coastlines.

As boring as it may sound, one of the best things residents can do to influence change is constructively tell Wellington City Council when they love or hate something, engage with their local councillors on issues and vote in local body elections.

Imagine if everyone in Wellington exercised their pre-existing right to have a say.