In February this year, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau told her fellow councillors it would further “kill” Courtenay Place if they didn’t back a $32 million deal with a multinational company. The deal was to buy the land under the Reading Cinemas complex so the international owners could use the money to finally fix the quake-prone building and get it back open. 

It was an idea met with fierce opposition by some — councillor