Some decisions were high stakes. Sometimes the vote was close. Often, the way Dunedin’s elected representatives voted provided clear indications of their values.
Grant Miller has selected a mix of decisions from the past term of the Dunedin City Council for voters to mull over ahead of the election.
This is by no means a list of the most important moments for the Dunedin City Council in the past three years.
Some key calls have been included. Others were left out.
One or two issues were put in just because voters may find them interesting.
The intention is to highlight a few matters covered by the mayor and councillors this term and provide some means of comparison between them.
Make of that what you will.
George St
A revamp of George St was progressing in the lead-up to Christmas in 2022, but new Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich was worried the council had gone all-in on converting three blocks to one-way traffic.
He pushed for ‘‘flexibility’’ for much of the redevelopment in case a one-way George St did not work out.
Mr Radich was initially successful in convincing enough colleagues mid-project more information was needed, but an 8-7 vote for this at a council meeting was followed by a 9-8 vote the other way two months later.
The committee to which he had the matter sent, infrastructure services, had two extra members who were mana whenua representatives and they voted with the bloc who argued the revamp should continue as planned.
It did and the project was completed last year – with one-way traffic firmly in place.
• Make one-way George St “flexible”
For (8): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (7): Crs Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker.
Aurora Energy
To sell or not to sell Aurora Energy was a decision worth well over $1 billion.
Selling would have allowed the council to slash group debt and set up a diversified fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars, providing an alternative revenue stream to rates.
Any sale price had been tipped to comfortably exceed $1b.
In the end, it was the public who had the decisive say.
Elected representatives who had appeared sympathetic to a sale accepted residents’ emphatic feedback – keep the company, many had insisted.
The council voted 13-2 on September 25 last year to retain Aurora.
• Retain Aurora Energy
For (13): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, David Benson-Pope, Sophie Barker, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (2): Crs Cherry Lucas and Lee Vandervis.
The hospital
People power was to the fore a few days later when an estimated 35,000 people marched in Dunedin against proposed cuts to the city’s new hospital.
The mayor and councillors were not always united about taking the fight to the government.
September 28, 2024 – the day of the march – was one occasion when they were.
Two others were on January 31, 2023, and October 30 last year. Those dates were when a fighting fund was established and when an authorised overspend for the council campaign was approved, including for costs related to the march. The vote was unanimous both times.
On January 31 this year, the government ditched drastic cuts that had been signalled.
‘‘We have listened,’’ Minister of Health Simeon Brown said.
• The council will not accept changes that reduce the long-term capacity of the new Dunedin hospital, or that compromise in any way the clinical services available to residents of the city and the wider region:
Passed unanimously.
Peninsula Connection
A winding, coastal road on Otago Peninsula has to a large extent been upgraded and a shared path there attracts cyclists and pedestrians.
But the Peninsula Connection road safety project is not finished and there are parts the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi will not help to fund.
Most councillors agreed this year the project should be completed anyway and they included the remaining three sections in the council’s 2025-34 long-term plan. Their combined cost is $18.5 million.
On January 29 this year, the council voted 9-6 to include completion of the remaining sections in the draft long-term plan. The project remained in the final plan after public consultation.
• The council includes funding in the draft budget for the remaining three sections of the Peninsula Connection project:
For (9): Crs Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker, Andrew Whiley.
Against (6): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall.
Smooth Hill
The council’s long-signalled intention to develop a landfill at Smooth Hill became a firm plan with momentum this term.
Consent was granted in 2023 and the council confirmed this year it planned to press ahead with construction.
It preferred to do so alone, rather than share the risk with a project partner. Another option – exporting waste, instead of creating a new landfill – was not favoured.
Some candidates for council have made continuation of the project an election issue, doubting it will be cost-effective.
The $92.4m facility is due to open about 2030.
• Fund construction of a landfill at Smooth Hill
For (13): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Marie Laufiso, Cherry Lucas, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker, Brent Weatherall.
Against (2): Crs Lee Vandervis, Andrew Whiley.
• The council decides not to include either high or medium options in the draft nine-year plan:
For (8): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Sophie Barker, Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (7): Crs David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Carmen Houlahan, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker.
Zero-carbon
Dunedin’s path towards a zero-carbon future had twists and turns in the past term.
A goal of getting there by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved, the council conceded.
More intriguingly, after the struggle became more difficult amid government policy changes, the council’s direction became unpredictable.
In September 2023, the council adopted a zero-carbon plan and requested staff work on its preference for a high-investment option for implementation, as well as a medium-investment option. Such content was prepared ahead of the council drafting its 2025-34 long-term plan for public consultation.
Incidentally, the council’s high-investment package included more than $100m in capital expenditure and the medium package had more than $35m.
On January 30, 2025, there was quite a shift. The council voted explicitly not to include high or medium options in its draft plan ‘‘because all the papers considered by council as part of the nine-year plan had zero-carbon assessments’’.
Cr Sophie Barker was key to the vote passing 8-7. No denier of climate change, Cr Barker took some heat from parts of the community over the council’s lack of interest in hearing unequivocally from the public about an appropriate level of spend.
However, another twist was coming. On May 27 this year, the council decided it should put serious money into zero-carbon initiatives, beyond business as usual, after all.
The council added more than $64m into the long-term plan for ‘‘high transport capital items’’, or what the Otago Daily Times described as carbon-friendly transport projects.
Cr Jim O’Malley was influential and this vote was carried 9-5. Key votes that made the difference belonged to Cr Barker and Cr Kevin Gilbert, while Cr Lee Vandervis had left the meeting by then.
Given the debt-funded work would not start before the 2027-28 financial year, matters may be revisited by the next council.
• Include funding for $64.44 million of carbon-friendly transport projects from 2027-28
For (9): Crs Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley, Steve Walker.
Against (5): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Cherry Lucas, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Albany St cycleway
A cycleway proposal became entangled in consultation controversy and then it crashed.
The Albany St project aimed to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin’s tertiary education area and the central business district.
Aspects of consultation were criticised by businessmen worried about potential loss of carparks and Cr O’Malley sat back from the vote because of opinions he had expressed earlier.
This proved to be crucial, as the vote last month was tied 7-7 and then Mr Radich used his casting vote to end the project.
• Stop Albany St cycleway project
For (7): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (7): Crs Sophie Barker, David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Steve Walker.
Cr Jim O’Malley sat back from the vote.
Passed on Mr Radich’s casting vote.
Community housing
Rising building costs put paid to moves set in motion years earlier to grow the city’s community housing stock.
On the back of strong public support, the council decided in 2021 to include $20m of new capital and another $22.6m for renewal in the 10-year plan to build more community housing and redevelop and maintain housing stock.
Council staff hoped this could deliver redevelopment of 29 units and 25 new units at four sites. It became plain it could not be done without a lot more money.
On January 30 this year, the council voted 8-6 to press on at Fitzroy St only, building four units to restore the total portfolio to 940.
• That the council continue with redevelopment at Fitzroy St only
For (8): Mayor Jules Radich and Crs Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Carmen Houlahan, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Against (6): Crs David Benson-Pope, Christine Garey, Steve Walker, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley.
Absent: Cr Sophie Barker.
Advice about Israel
A tense debate was held about whether the council should issue foreign policy advice to the government relating to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
It happened at the council’s community services committee in June, as the humanitarian crisis continued in Gaza.
The matter for debate was a notice of motion brought by Cr Christine Garey, advocating committee support for Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick’s Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill, and requesting Dunedin’s mayor write to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters asking government MPs to back the Bill.
The vote was tied at 7-7 and committee chairwoman Marie Laufiso broke the deadlock with her casting vote.
The resolution was carried and Mr Radich, who voted against it, then had to write his letter. His manner in doing so caused some consternation.
In the letter, Mr Radich said the situation in the Middle East was of great concern to many Dunedin residents.
‘‘There are also many who do not think that international relations are the business of local government.’’
• Support Israel sanctions Bill
For (7): Crs Christine Garey, Steve Walker, David Benson-Pope, Carmen Houlahan, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Jim O’Malley.
Against (7): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, Kevin Gilbert, Cherry Lucas, Lee Vandervis, Brent Weatherall, Andrew Whiley.
Absent: Cr Sophie Barker.
Passed on Cr Laufiso’s casting vote.
Fireworks
Council-run New Year’s Eve celebrations have not featured fireworks since Dunedin welcomed 2021.
Councillors thought about reinstating a pyrotechnics display to bring in 2026, but decided against it.
Reinstating fireworks was voted down 9-6 in April.
This year’s party will feature musical acts and the council has signalled bagpipers might ‘‘provide a cultural link and atmospheric highlight as the new year is welcomed in’’.
• Reinstate fireworks for New Year’s Eve celebrations:
For (6): Mayor Jules Radich, Crs Bill Acklin, David Benson-Pope, Carmen Houlahan, Jim O’Malley, Brent Weatherall.
Against (9): Crs Cherry Lucas, Sophie Barker, Christine Garey, Kevin Gilbert, Marie Laufiso, Mandy Mayhem, Lee Vandervis, Steve Walker, Andrew Whiley.