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• Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s business advisory group has lost developer Mark McGuinness and bar owner Justin McKenzie. 
• The group was only announced in May. 
• Whanau plans to recruit new members to focus on city centre revitalisation and building the creative, fashion, screen and tech sectors. 

A high-profile developer and a hospitality leader have resigned from Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s business advisory group. 

They are Willis Bond chairman Mark McGuinness and bar owner Justin McKenzie. 

“The actual survivability of our business was more important to me than sitting around the table having a cup of tea and a cheese board,” McKenzie told the Herald. 

In May, Whanau announced the new business group of high-flyers to advise her directly as the capital braced for what she said would be disruptive but transformational change. 

The Mayoral Business Group included leaders from the retail, hospitality, tech, property development and creative sectors. 

The group of 10 would provide feedback on upcoming council projects and have the opportunity to put new ideas on the table to address the city’s challenges, Whanau said at the time. 

“It’s important to me that our local businesses have an active role in shaping and delivering the transformation of our city. 

Mark McGuinness of developer Willis Bond. Photo / Dean Purcell 

But McKenzie said he didn’t feel the meetings were getting anywhere because the council wasn’t listening. 

He has also had to close his Courtenay Place business CGR Merchant & Co. 

“Trade’s so negative that we aren’t able to survive so, the priority was to try and get through that.” 

McKenzie acknowledged Courtenay Place needed some love but is opposed to the council’s Golden Mile plan. 

Last year McKenzie signed an open letter to Whanau that said “turning our main artery into little more than a bus lane will not bring in people and help us recover”. 

McKenzie said the advisory group experience also made him realise how long council processes could take. 

“As a business owner, you sort of make a decision and you get on with that and that’s the frustrating thing for all of us.” 

McKenzie is the brother of Flight of the Conchords musician and comedian Bret McKenzie, and son of renowned Wellington dancer and choreographer Deidre Tarrant. 

McGuinness confirmed he had resigned but said he had no further comment. 

His company, Willis Bond, has expanded beyond its original Wellington roots and became a “$1 billion-plus force in Auckland” in 2019 and now has offices there, in Tauranga and the capital. 

The company’s Wellington projects include Chews Lane Apartments, waterfront builds like the PwC Centre and the Bell Gully Building, the city’s first base-isolated apartment building Victoria Lane Apartments and the new convention centre Tākina. 

Whanau said time pressure and other priorities prompted the pair to resign. 

“These are not paid roles so I appreciate members with busy jobs taking the time to be part of the group. I am grateful for every member’s input as we’ve got up and running this year.” 

Whanau said the group has contributed to the Golden Mile support package, the council’s international relations strategy, City Safety Plan and ideas for central city revitalisation. 

“I’ve been speaking to some very keen candidates to become new members in the new year and especially want to focus the group on plans to revitalise the city centre and build our creative, fashion, screen and tech sectors.” 

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.