The Wellingtonista

White text on black. Wellington on a good day” is when you instantly get why no one believes this place is real, sometimes. Glacier-blue skies, crisp clean air. Mirrored skyscrapers glimmer next to retro-futuristic brutalist buildings against steep hills, folded by tectonic pressure, wrapped in greenery like cotton wool. All in a crescent-shaped embrace around turquoise waters. Massive metal AT-AT cranes wait for ships at the waterfront, a stone’s throw from downtown’s glossy upscale shops, amid rushing parliamentarians on lunch break, executives in skirts and slacks. The inner city green belts and preserves stretch like cats in the sun, cacophonies of birds that sound like old-school modems careening amid the Victorians. There are moments and angles of “Wellington on a good day” that feel like being in love with a city that loves you back even more. Boats cruise the harbour and life along the water is all art deco black-and-white gulls, kids diving in gleeful Manu poses, sun-kissed shoulders, seaside coffee carts, pods of dolphins, families on bicycles, and bakeries scenting breezes to drift lazily beyond their patios and sparkling seaside views. Red brick road Cuba Street Mall erupts with buskers, goths, queens, grinning tourists munching grab-and-go dim sum from carts parked in front of ancient, labyrinthine used bookstores, and pose for selfies in the Rainbow Crosswalk. Trust me when I say there’s nothing in the world like Pōneke, Aotearoa on a good day. Or Wellington, New Zealand, to most.

What it's like here today, via The Ghost Hunter's Guide to the Alphabet: “Wellington on a good day” is when you instantly get why no one believes this place is real, sometimes.

Read it all: www.patreon.com/posts/ghost-...

Hey, so guess what I did? 🧵

Can I prove Deloitte used AI to write this report? No. But that would honestly be the less embarrassing option. The research in this report is below par for a 1st year undergrad, where they even bother to show research.

Let's unpack some of the mistakes I found.

#nzpol

@skyuni123.bsky.social relevant to your interests maybe

Melbourne tramway laid over Wellington map

Paris metro laid over Wellington

Tube laid over Wellington

NYC subway over Wellington https://wbholland.github.io/trainspose/

This website shows what it could be like if we were a real country wbholland.github.io/trainspose/

They could take over the Rydges at the airport and use that as parliament. Or the golf course.

SH1 Wellington Improvements project engagement survey NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

Põneke: consultation for the horrendous second Mount Victoria tunnel and Basin Reserve clusteruck are open until 11:59pm next Sunday. Take the chance to tell them we don’t want our city bifurcated by a giant motorway for people who don’t live here.

nzta.mysocialpinpoint.com/SH1-Wellingt...

What was the Indian restaurant that became Mighty Mighty called?

Wellington Pride Festival Be part of our all-day family friendly fair event with stalls, stage performances, delicious food and drink and a jam-packed day of LGBTTQIA+ celebration and vibes.

Want to be a stallholder at Out in the City 2026? Applications are open now for you to join our all-day family friendly fair! www.wellingtonpridefestival.com/events/out-i...

hey team I just thought of a way the Council could have saved over $400,000

Facebook post text: Calling people in Wellington to action! Say "NO" to all-gender changing rooms and toilets, as endorsed by the Wellington City Council in their "Rainbow Action Plan". We aim to raise public awareness of the Council's "Rainbow Action Plan" in two demonstrations next week outside the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre in Kilbirnie. When: Thursday 4th, 2- 4pm, and Sunday 7th, 2-4pm. We'd love it if you could join us. We'll have leaflets to pass out to passers by and signs. Feel free to make your own sign. p.s. For more information, see:

Heads up that terfs are planning on being terfy at Kilbernie Pool next week on Thursday and Sunday so you may want to avoid if you don’t want to deal with them

If Little takes nothing else away from Joel’s piece, let it at least be “cars are not people”

I fucking HATE "Wellington Bays"

Bring back Rongotai.

Plans for new Wellington tunnel through Mt Victoria unveiled Two new tunnels will take two hectares of the green belt, cost up to $4 billion and require major works in nearby areas for years.

PS: Has anyone asked Bishop how the Mount Victoria tunnel proposal complies with that same Transport GPS, which forbids any part of the overall budget for a road project from being used for walking and cycling infrastructure? Are they hoping no one notices? www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

This is grimly amusing. Bishop couldn't fulfil a campaign promise because of Simeon Brown's footpath fatwa, so he had to raid a Kāinga Ora fund. Maybe running transport policy as a culture war was a stupid and destructive thing to do in the first place, eh.

It's not about making Wellingtonians' lives easier. It's about making Wellingtonians pay for shit from which they won't benefit, plus so they can't afford things they do need.

This is a punishment for rejecting RW politics. Which is a bit ironic after Little became mayor.

Build light rail and put a better cycling link in to take cars off the road. All trips go faster. Not that any of this matters because Wellington Airport will be underwater in a few decades.

The stupidest thing about a second Mt Vic tunnel is that the cars have no where to go. You pop back onto 1 lane each way Ruahine St or into the snarl of the basin. Like whats the point. What problem does this solve?

Huh. Fascinating. In both Rongotai and Wellington Central, the electorates on both sides of the tunnel. Your party came a distant third on party votes and your candidates also came a distant third. Weird how so few people I Wellington voted for you on this

"up to 10 minutes"

That's the maximum amount of time saved. Ten minutes.

How fucking WEAK are we that we cannot abide ten whole fucking minutes for the sake of the environment, road safety, etc etc?

Christ, this is a country of whiney piss babies

How you can get up close to Gareth Morgan's giant sculptures at Transmission Gully The economist, philanthropist, businessman and former political figure is ready to unveil his art passion project to visitors.

"It just keeps me busy during my retirement otherwise I go sterile or do something even sillier and get back into politics or economics, and I don’t want to go backwards" That's some amazing self awareness from Gareth Morgan - please can more rich people learn from him? www.rnz.co.nz/life/culture...

It cost Casey Costello $4500 to hire a room to meet with Irish anti-trans activist Helen Joyce. $1000 for a council social event to unveil a painting is peanuts & much more positive bc it involves sthg tangible (painting) & supports a local artist.

Wanna create pride events? Join us for an online Q&A session We'll answer all your questions about: - deadlines - how to apply - what kind of events - venues 7pm - 8pm Wednesday 12 November via Teams Wellington Pride Festival

Thinking about creating an event for Wellington Pride Festival 2026, but got some questions?

This online event is for you!

We’ll also be joined by some of our partners who’ll have more information on grants and venues. Full details www.wellingtonpridefestival.com/events/onlin...

Congrats to the good people of the Onslow-Western ward of Wellington, you've elected a man who thinks being a Councillor is beneath him (but he'll still keep the salary, thanks)

Emily (Emily Writes) and I drafted a letter to Andrew Little about his decision to appoint Ray Chung as chair of the CCO Review & Appointments subcommittee. We think this is unacceptable given his past behaviour. Here's a template for a letter if you agree:
sites.google.com/view/really-...
#nzpol

instead of spending a bajillion dollars on a new tunnel to the airport couldn't we achieve the same goal cheaper by moving the beehive to miramar

Please let Wellington totally and utterly reject this school

Newspaper article: Speaking at a press conference, McNulty said the 18-month stint was agreed mutually and he would not have wanted a full term. He bought himself an $80 digital watch to celebrate the appointment.

Okay props to McNulty for this shade

“The challenge in front of this council is huge. Public trust must be restored, rates need to be brought under control and Wellington needs to grow out of its current malaise.

Labour Party councillor and new Deputy Mayor Ben McNulty using talking points that are indistinguishable from those used by right wingers 😒

NDAs and no heads-up: NZTA freezes out council on tunnel plans Wellington City councillor Geordie Rogers says a heads up on tunnel plans would have been nice ‒ especially given the wide-ranging impacts on the capital.

A four lane road cutting through the most densely populated part of Wellington and NZTA still can't tell the Council where it's going - but apparently they can get in touch with over 200 property owners whose land they need for the new tunnels.
www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3608...

Several jet plane sweets scattered across red bricks.

Horrors! A tragic jet plane accident in Wellington.