Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour's Ōhāriu MP Greg O'Connor has launched a passionate defence of Wellington's vibrancy, declaring that he regularly swims in the harbour, unbothered by pollution or sewage warnings.
The capital has seen a string of businesses call time in recent months, citing the economic downturn, public sector job cuts and city council decisions.
But speaking to reporters at Parliament on Tuesday, O'Connor rejected the notion that Wellington was dying and said he would happily holiday there.
He said he frequently visited the harbour and waterfront himself, and encouraged his constituents to do the same.
"Just wander down and see what a great city we do have. That waterfront is fantastic. If it's windy, wrap up. If it's sunny, put some sunscreen on.
"When I get visitors, I take them down there, and they just about always marvel at it."
Asked whether he was talking about the same harbour that got polluted when there was heavy rain, O'Connor said such comments were "typical".
"It doesn't stop people swimming in there, does it?" O'Connor said. "They've been advising people not to do that for years, but people have done it."
Asked if he personally would swim in the harbour if there was sewage overflow, O'Connor replied forcefully: "Yeah, I do. I do swim in the harbour. I'm not sure - I haven't seen any warnings lately, but I actually do, and I take my son out there. I love swimming in the harbour."
O'Connor then queried why he was being asked about the topic when there were no current swimming bans along the waterfront.
"Why bring all this up then? The positive is that you can swim in Wellington Harbour today... Good. Report that."
On Tuesday afternoon, Oriental Bay had an orange water quality rating, meaning caution was advised: "there may be an increased risk of illness for young children and older people".
A no-swim notice was issued for part of Wellington Harbour in January after tests returned high results of the bacteria Enterococci, an indicator of faecal contamination.
Following O'Connor's remarks, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was separately asked whether he would swim in the harbour despite a do-not-swim alert.
A somewhat bemused Hipkins responded: "Probably not."