Wellington's Mayor can't yet paint a clear picture of the city council's debt

The council's gross debt was 1.25 billion dollars at the end of the 2023 financial year.

Over the past five years, they paid an average of 25 million dollars annually in interest for money it has borrowed.

A group of Wellington ratepayers say their independent analysis shows the council's facing a billion dollar hole, which Tory Whanau rejects.

She says they're still at the beginning stage of the Long Term Plan process -- so they can't yet determine how much debt they'll need to use.