The organiser behind key Wellington wins — and why he loves this city
Saturday, 7 March 2026
You may not have heard of Ashok Jacob but you have been shaped by his work. He is part of Unions Wellington, which was instrumental in stopping the Wellington City Council selling its stake in Wellington Airport, and is a Public Service Association organiser. When he is not on a picket line, you might find him at the Island Bay Marine Education Centre sharing a birthday with a 9-year-old, or hanging with the glow-worms. He lives in Kelburn.
My favourite thing about this part of Wellington is …
The sheer amount of trees. It's a dense suburban area, but there are some parts where from above you can barely see the streets. The density of greenery in the inner suburbs is remarkable and I would bet makes everyone happier. I've never been to another city that smells as fresh as Wellington.
A hidden gem in my hood is …
Every couple of weeks my partner Sabina and I walk through the Botanic Garden at night to see the glow-worms along the Pukatea stream. A high school teacher who saw them there was the first European to discover that NZ glow-worms are gnats rather than beetles. I also like walking down to the Peace Flame and Hiroshima stone. Sabina's great-great uncle Gerald O'Brien was involved in bringing it to NZ when he was president of the World Peace Council. It's a poignant place and it makes me proud to live somewhere with such a strong tradition of peace activism.
To get to work …
I use the cable car, which I love. The views are incredible early in the morning. It's public transport as well as a tourist attraction - I am sitting in the background of probably hundreds of tourists' holiday photos. Wellington needs cable cars everywhere.
If you’re looking for somewhere to eat in [suburb] you can’t go past …
On pay day we usually treat ourselves to a roti canai from Upesh Kitchen. Wellington has a great tradition of Malaysian food. In town, I have lots of meetings in Glover Park over Rogue and Vagabond burgers. Glover Park was named after Lew Glover, a waterside worker and leader of the 1913 great strike. I love that Wellington has an abundance of free public spaces in the city and there are so many great spots to eat outside.
My favourite place to take a visitor to Wellington would be …
Te Papa and Zealandia are world famous for good reason. The Space Place planetarium shows are just down the road from my flat and always great fun.
When I travel to a new city I like to visit public facilities like pools and libraries - I hope to be able to take visitors to the Central Library when it reopens.
The Wellington region is also obviously home to many screensaver-esque natural scenes. I recently hiked up the Ōrongorongo river with some friends and that's where I'd take the next person who comes to visit from out of town.
The Nikau Reserve in Paraparaumu is magic and lots of people don't know about it. The extraordinarily beautiful leg of the train journey between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki is an added bonus.
Wellington also has some cool modernist architecture (depending on whether or not visitors are interested in that). The Dixon Street Flats and the Beehive are the most famous examples, but I love the angled rooftop of Freyberg Pool and the curtain glass facade of Massey House on the Terrace.
The perfect Saturday morning is …
I like swimming at Freyberg Pool with my friend Louis and having coffee on the wharf afterwards.
Not many people know this about Kelburn but …
It is a sleepy place and I don't know any juicy secrets, other than its history as a hamlet of New Zealand's ruling class. The Todd family in the 19th century, and Ron Trotter and Lloyd Morrison in the Rogernomics era all lived around here. But I've also heard Sam Neill lived in my building while he was filming Sleeping Dogs.
When I need to clear my head, I go to …
I have been swimming regularly recently. Wellington has some excellent public pools. Thorndon Pool is a beautiful facility.
My guilty pleasure in the city is to go to …
I'm not guilty about it, but I had my 24th birthday at the Island Bay Marine Education Centre. There was another birthday boy there who was turning 9.
If I were mayor for a day I would …
People's cars are too big. Paris has higher parking fines the bigger your car is. We should have that. It might be a bit late for this, but I also think there should be a big party when the Central Library reopens.
– as told to Tom Hunt