Incoming Wellington Mayor Andrew Little says a supercity-style council for the region is "all but inevitable" and wants to discuss the idea with the community.
Little also hopes to put a proposal to review the Golden Mile upgrade before councillors next month at their first meeting.
He spoke to RNZ in a sit-down interview in the mayor's office prior to being officially sworn into the role at a ceremony on Thursday night.
The Golden Mile, council amalgamation, rates caps and his relationships with councillors and the government were discussed.
Golden Mile
The $139 million project would see cars banned from 7am to 7pm between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place, along with widened footpaths and a cycle lane.
It had been a controversial project for the city with some businesses not backing it.
Andrew Little said during the campaign he wanted the project reviewed and told RNZ council officers had advised that could happen.
"Officers have told me that they think there is actually an opportunity for a bit of a review of where things are at, what the risks actually are.
"So, they are giving me some advice about that, ultimately that will be a decision for council to take."
He said costings for the project were last done five years ago so it could be anticipated the costs for it would have grown "significantly greater".
It was important the council looked at the future of the project with its eyes open, Little said.
"We just have to be realistic about the risk around additional cost, and also what might be practical and feasible, and the risks obviously to businesses who are on the Golden Mile of disruption."
He said given there had been difficulty in getting construction contracts signed it "tells us something anyway".
Little hoped to put a proposal for the review in front of council at its first meeting on 20 November.
Incoming Wellington Mayor Andrew Little. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Council amalgamation
In the 2025 local body elections, Lower Hutt and Porirua voters both supported a non-binding poll which asked if their respective councils should explore creating one council for the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington.
It would combine relevant services and functions regionally, while keeping appropriate local services and decision-making local.
Andrew Little told RNZ he was in favour of amalgamation in principle and thought it was "all but inevitable".
"I think increasingly people who live in the Wellington region, whether it's Wellington City, Porirua, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, see themselves as a region.
"You know half of the Hutt Valley works in Wellington during the working week."
Little said it was time to have the discussion not just with leaders but the community.
Council and central government relationships
Throughout the last term of council, infighting amongst elected members was notable, with the government having appointed a crown observer due to what former Local Government Minister Simeon Brown described as "financial and behavioural challenges".
Andrew Little told RNZ he had met with all councillors and that it was a bunch of people who wanted to make "the city hum really well".
"They also have different ways of wanting to achieve that and that, to the extent that there is disagreement, is perfectly natural and healthy."
His sense was while he had identified issues councillors did not all agree on, his discussions had been constructive.
"I remain confident that we will be able to manage disagreements, in the way you would expect, we will achieve constructive outcomes. It is just about keeping a dialogue going and keeping people talking to each other."
He had announced fellow Labour-backed candidate, Ben McNulty, would be deputy mayor for 18 months, with a new councillor taking the reins after that time.
Incoming Deputy Mayor Ben McNulty (L) with Andrew Little. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Little told RNZ there would be several candidates for the role after that time passed and that at that point leaders of different committees would be reviewed too.
"Some will flourish in their committee roles and some may struggle so the performance element is important too."
He said after his election win, he'd been in contact with several ministers and had meetings planned with the Local Government Minister Simon Watts and senior Wellington-based Cabinet ministers Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop.
Little told RNZ he wanted make the case Wellington City was ready to engage with central government.
"My sense is the government actually wants to see Wellington succeed and they want to be part of Wellington's success."
He also wanted to ask those ministers if there was any way for Wellington to get a regional deal for the city running, given the region's leaders missed a deadline for expressions of interest earlier this year.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called it "lame-o" at the time that they did not put forward a plan, whilst the region's leaders said it was a choice.
Rates cap
Andrew Little told RNZ at his meeting with Watts in the coming weeks he would likely raise his concerns with the government's plans to implement a rates cap.
Watts has said the government was exploring a rates cap system and that a paper would be considered by Cabinet before Christmas.
Little said rates caps were not a good idea.
"Councils have got to be able to do what they consider they have to do that is a response to their constituencies and they will be accountable for those each election.
"I think anytime the central government sort of interferes with that it distorts that relationship and actually makes councils unaccountable which is not healthy."
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