Add up the cost of the two new proposed tunnels in Wellington, fixing its water supplies, fixing Wellington's port and ferry facilities, building endless lightly-used bicycle pathways, reinforcing Wellington's buildings that can never be reinforced sufficiently to deal with the kind of earthquake that can easily be generated by the fault-line they sit right on top of, building an "international convention center" that will never hold much in the way of international conventions since Wellington doesn't have a proper international airport, and you get a figure of way over $10 billion. Is it being funded by Wellington rate payers? You must be kidding - their Council's debt is exploding, and the Transport Minister is already saying his new tunnels will be paid for out of general taxation. Wellington will probably be bailed in a few years, just like defaulting Detroit, another failing city, this time in the US.
Whilst other cities in NZ boom, Wellington City shrinks. To help protect the value of his commercial buildings, more than for any other reason, the guy we all thought was a free market, libertarian right-winger, namely Sir Bob Jones, has now been revealed as embracing Big Government. He's defending Wellington like crazy. Sir Bob wants Wellington to get bigger, filled with even more government workers to lease buildings from him. At least Bob has at last fully revealed his investment strategy - he has relied on socialism for his survival. That is, buy up in Capital Cities, because they "don't die", to quote his newly released words of wisdom. Then negotiate long-term leases with government. Being government, he figures the tenants won't leave, will keep the place tidy & not care what rent they pay, since it's tax-payers dollars. The greatest hypocrite of all time, but a genius never-the less. Given how much Bob loves boxing and once famously punched a journalist for interrupting his fly fishing, he should maybe consider giving himself a punch sometime, or at least smack a trout over his face, as punishment for his hypocrisy.
Sir Bob is not telling the whole story. When I lived in Bonn in Germany, it was the capital city of that nation at the time - the center of power in what was then the world's second largest economy (before China surpassed it). During my time there, the capital was shifted to Berlin. Bonn could have been emptied out by the move, although managed to retain a bunch of government ministries. The same should be done in NZ.
Wellington can retain its official status as capital, like Berlin is now, but should unequivocally have a bunch of its Ministries moved to Auckland. Social Development, Education & the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment should go. It's inappropriate they continue to be based in Wellington. Most of the country's social & educational problems are located in South Auckland. Those Ministries should be moved to Manukau City, which is next door, and by the International Airport. The fewer people going into work in Wellington City the better - then it won't need $10 billion ploughed into it to support the increasing population that it will never achieve. Of course, Sir Bob will try to stop the shift, since he's just come out as against free markets and creating wealth, apart from wealth that comes from taxpayers paying his rent.
Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. Rob blogs at Down to Earth Kiwi