File photo: Reading Cinema in Wellington. Photo: CC 4.0 BY-SA / Tom Ackroyd
A secret $32 million deal between Wellington City Council and Reading Cinema owners is set to finally be discussed in public.
The cinema building was closed in early 2019 after an earthquake risk was discovered and has since become a symbol of the tired state of Courtenay Pl - a street that has traditionally been a key part of the city's nightlife and entertainment offering.
The deal has always been discussed behind closed doors to protect commercial sensitivity but some details have been leaked and widely circulated in the public domain.
The council plans to buy the land underneath for $32m which the cinema chain would use to strengthen and reopen the building and later have the option of buying the land back at the sale price, the Herald understands.
A $43,000 independent code of conduct investigation launched by Mayor Tory Whanau into five councillors found there was insufficient evidence to identify who leaked the confidential information.
Councillors and the Mayor, whether they support the actual deal or not, were becoming increasingly aware of the public suspicion and aggravation that the secrecy around it has caused.
Councillor Iona Pannett filed a notice of motion to revoke decisions the council has made on the cinema which is being discussed at a full council meeting on Thursday.
No information about the motion has been provided in the agenda and council officials have recommended it be considered in a public-excluded part of the meeting.
But not a single councillor the Herald spoke to today completely agreed it should be discussed in secret, easily giving Pannett the majority she needs for a vote to have it play out in public.
Even Whanau said she was supportive because of ongoing misinformation.
"It is entirely appropriate that commercially confidential information is debated in private. It has been really frustrating to see details leaked - leading to misinformation - on a decision that was democratically agreed in council for the good of the city.
"Officers advice continues to be that this remains private, but a lot of what has been said about this proposal with Reading is inaccurate and misleading."
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Councillors John Apanowicz and Tim Brown agreed.
Brown said the confidentiality of the deal has materially increased public suspicion and aggravation about the council.
He said it might have been viable to hold information about the deal in confidence for a few weeks but not several months.
"Council should seek to ensure everything about all its activities is public with any exceptions having to be justified by really strong reasons, which is not the case with Reading."
Councillor Sarah Free said most of the relevant details were now in the public domain anyway.
Councillors Nicola Young, Diane Calvert, Ray Chung and Tony Randle were also on board citing the "huge public interest" and concern.
Labour councillors Nureddin Abdurahman, Rebecca Matthews, Teri O'Neill and Ben McNulty all agreed.
The deal would have been far less controversial had it been public from the start, McNulty said.
Abdurahman said the public needed to have confidence in the council's decision-making processes.
"At a time when community facilities are under threat from the council, the public are rightly sceptical of closed-door discussions on major items of expenditure like the Reading deal.
"Too often council excludes the public from decision making and this is bad for democracy."
Green Deputy Mayor Laurie Foon said she would prefer for it to be discussed in public noting an "uninformed conversation" had emerged from the public not having the full details.
"But if it will jeopardise the commercial sensitivity at this stage, then I do not think we should discuss it in public."
Green councillor Nīkau Wi Neera acknowledged parts of the deal were commercially sensitive and kept private to secure the best deal for the public.
"That said, I think the best way to take Wellingtonians with us on this and show the positives of the deal would be to release as much detail as we can - without compromising our negotiating position."
Geordie Rogers, who was confirmed the winner of the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward by-election this week and will be sworn in as a councillor at the upcoming council meeting, also said he would like the discussion to be held in public.
- This story was first published by the NZ Herald