Little not stupid

Stuff reports:

Whanau’s exit has come with plenty of speculation about the possibility of a deal, so that she and Little might work together and advance Labour/Green interests.

But Little has no such plans, and he would not consider the current mayor to be his deputy, he confirmed.

“This election is about change. The sentiment is clear that people want change, and I am standing because I represent change.”

“That change has to be reflected, not just in the mayoralty, but in the deputy mayoralty.”

This comes after Whanau said she would be keen to be Little’s Deputy Mayor. Little could dodge this question by saying that would be decided after the election, once he knows who is on Council (if he wins). But by ruling out Whanau in advance, he is trying to distance himself from her, as he knows that she is incredibly unpopular.

On Tuesday, Little told Stuff that council officers should hold off from signing any contracts that would bind the council after the election. …

Whanau pushed back, commenting Little is not elected yet and does not have a say at the council table.

“I have been tasked with delivering on the Courtenay Place precinct. Delaying that project even further will only add more cost to something that we desperately need,” she told Stuff on Tuesday, adding that she is confident they can get the crucial contract signed before the October election.

But Little stood by his comments.

“In central government, there’s a convention that when you’re months out from a general election, you don’t make decisions that are of significant or material value that you know would bind the next government. And I am not sure that convention applies at local government, but it should do.”

Little is right. Nominations for Council open in just over two months. Outgoing Councils should be very hesitant about commiting ratepayers to expensive projects which would undermine the whole point of the upcoming election.