1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: How about Wellington. Though major flooding at the ma Point 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,840 Speaker 1: wastewater treatment plant is seen, it shut and the raw 3 00:00:04,880 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: sewage goes straight into the ocean. Thank you very much. 4 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: Andrew Little is the mayor, of course, and he's with us. Morning. 5 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:10,720 Speaker 2: Come morning, Mike. 6 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: I watched you at the press conference yesterday. You look 7 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: like you wanted to shoot yourself, did you. 8 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:17,160 Speaker 2: No, not sure myself. 9 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: No. 10 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 2: Look, this is a this is just a catastrophic disaster. 11 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 2: So Werrington, the sewage plant and this done age should 12 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 2: not suffer the kind of failure that this one did. 13 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 2: And it has been now spewing untreated surgeon to the 14 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 2: south coast of Wearrington. So not good. I'm not happy 15 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 2: and there's a lot of work to do to fix 16 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 2: things up. 17 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: Indeed, when you stood for council and the mayor's job, 18 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: did you think at some point something like this would 19 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: be part of the equation. 20 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 2: Well, I never thought through a treated plant would go down. 21 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 2: And the way this plant is. I know there's a 22 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 2: new sort of adjacent plant being built to it that's 23 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 2: still under construction, But the existing treated plant, which has 24 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 2: been around thirty odd years, no one had ever indicated 25 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: to me, and even since I've been there that this 26 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 2: was at risk. There's been ongoing investment in it. We 27 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: have contractors looking after it all the rest, but nobody 28 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,200 Speaker 2: had ever suggested to me, but this was a risk, 29 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 2: and I'm not sure that it was. Something's gone wrong. 30 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 2: We need to find out what it is. 31 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: That was my next question. So is this part of 32 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: the overall Wellington infrastructural calamity or is this just one 33 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: of those things. 34 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 2: I think it's just one of those things. The pipes 35 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 2: we all know about, and we also know that that 36 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 2: has been under invested in the plant. It's thirty years 37 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 2: old and it's had all the maintenance and upgrades. You know, 38 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 2: you'd expect that does look like a freak thing. But 39 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:39,199 Speaker 2: until we do an investigation and find out the causes, 40 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 2: we just wait on. 41 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: You got a bill? Any idea of a bill? 42 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 2: Expensive? I would have thought. I mean, we've got a 43 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 2: new water entity starting up on the first of July. Wellings. 44 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 2: The City Council owns this treated plant and we're required 45 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 2: to transfer it in working order good working order on 46 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:58,040 Speaker 2: the first of July. So we're got to work cut 47 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 2: out for us to get it fixed up operating so 48 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 2: we can make that transfer. 49 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: So Look, this will be expensive image wise. Does it 50 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: damage Wellington any further from the damage it's already inflicted 51 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: upon itself. 52 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 2: Look, this is frustrating. A storage tringing plant, and in 53 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 2: a big city, in the modern city, just shouldn't fail 54 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 2: in the way that this one has. It's annoying in 55 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 2: that respect. There's many of other good things having about Wellington. 56 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 2: This is just a thing I never expected and it's 57 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 2: just hugely frustrating, a disappointing. 58 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 1: Key question for you, is Mayor of Wellington? An issue 59 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: I raised on the program yesterday out of an article 60 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: in the Herald. Is Jackson Street for TONI New Zealand's 61 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: best kept secret and in fact what Cuba Street was 62 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: twenty years ago? 63 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 2: All well as Jackson Street, Pattorney falls into the responsibility. 64 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: It's just up the highway, Yeah it is, and. 65 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 2: I've been up it. I used to work near Jackson Street. 66 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 2: That's pretty good street. But I maintained cafes and restaurants 67 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 2: and places to go in here breakfast and lunch and stuff, 68 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:08,119 Speaker 2: and Denner and Billington are unsurpassable anywhere else. 69 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, good on Andrew little Wellington may In that answer 70 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: if you think about it, is the absurdity of local 71 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: government in this country. Just picture, and I was picturing 72 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: in my mind asking that question, the stretch of road 73 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: from downtown Wellington onto the motorway up to Fortoni. Right, 74 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 1: It's like, what is that two and a half three 75 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: minutes four if you're flowing freely, and yet it's a 76 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,239 Speaker 1: completely different jurisdiction, as though it's a different world. How 77 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: nuts is that? For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, 78 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: listen live to news talks it'd be from six am weekdays, 79 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.