Former Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau back on the campaign trail – in Australia

NZ Herald

29 May, 2026 07:16 AMQuick Read

Subscribe to listenAccess to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.Subscribe now

‌

SaveShare this articleCopy LinkEmailFacebookTwitter/XLinkedInReddit

Former Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau is now campaign manager for a Green candidate in Victoria, Australia. Photo / Local Democracy Reporting

By Justin Wong, Local Democracy Reporting

Former Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau is back as a political party staffer – this time in Australia as the campaign manager for a Green candidate in Victoria’s state election.

Whanau, who was the New Zealand Greens’ parliamentary chief of staff for six years before
stepping out from behind the scenes and elected as Wellington’s mayor in 2022, said on social media on Friday she had been elected to the state council of the Victorian Greens – the party’s primary governing body.

She has also become the campaign manager for Izzy Scherrer, the Greens’ candidate in the electorate of South Barwon, which covers Geelong’s southern suburbs, in the state elections in November.