Wellington residents’ views being misrepresented in Long-Term Plan consultation

Responding to allegations that the Wellington Long-Term Plan consultation has been falsely marking submitters as supporting certain projects, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“True to form, Wellington City Council’s consultation has been a flop. If they’ve been recording residents’ answers incorrectly, then the only option is to go back to the drawing board and start public consultations again from scratch.

“The consultation was also clearly designed to lead residents down the garden path. The boilerplate options on the form meant officials could artificially bolster support for certain projects by hiding them in the detail of more prominent ones.

“When the Council screwed the scrum in the same way with the annual plan last year, Councillor Ray Chung was threatened with being banned from voting for trying to help residents get their own views across. This is just what Wellington City Council does.”