The chair of Wellington's economic development agency Peter Biggs is not apologising for his former chief executive's spending.

Largesse and luxury at ratepayers' expense? Or money well spent to bring big deals and bucks to the capital?

It's down to perspective, says the chairman who signed off on the entertainment bills, which included 36 Bluff oysters, fine wine and meals at some of Wellington's finest eateries.

Hence, the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (Wreda) is unapologetic about the spending of its former chief executive, Chris Whelan.

Those expenses include a $1100 bill at a high-end restaurant, and $400-plus bills at the likes of Zibibbo, Logan Brown, Whitebait Cafe, Shed 5, and MariLuca Ristoro.

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Whelan, who is still with Wreda but no longer chief executive, chose not to comment.

Wreda, after an official information request, has released the chief executive's credit card expenses since the agency began in 2015, through to when Whelan stood down as the head in May this year.

It also includes his interim replacement Derek Fry's spending in June and July 2017, which has been notably frugal.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester has criticised Whelan's spending.

SUPPLIED Former Wreda boss Chris Whelan spent up large on his work credit card.

But Peter Biggs - Wreda's chairman, who was out with Whelan on many of the occasions and signed off on the spending - said the fine dining had measurable results, most notably in bringing the Concentrix call centre and Singapore Airlines to Wellington, and getting business for Westpac Stadium.

Asked whether business would have been lost without the 36 oysters, Biggs said that was a "cynical" view and it could also be looked at as a way of showcasing the capital's "vibrancy and sophistication and also building collegiality".

"It depends on whether you know how the real world works," he said.

That reality was that Whelan was a new chief executive from overseas and needed to be introduced to key players in a productive way.

Wreda, while largely publicly funded, worked a lot in the private sector and its job was to get appropriate private investment and to "showcase the Wellington region's cuisine, wines, and that kind of thing".

He ordered only Wellington region wines and, when he didn't, reimbursed the money, he said.

Although spending tailed off after big business had been wooed and Whelan settled in, Biggs said he would authorise the same spending again.

"I would have a responsibility to showcase Wellington in the best light possible."

Lester said the spending was disappointing and "below my expectations".

"I've made it clear to Wreda's chief executive [now Derek Fry] that I, and ratepayers, expect public money to be spent judiciously.

"There's a legitimate role for entertainment, especially when you're closing major deals with externals. But I was disappointed when I looked through the list of claims.

"I've communicated this to Wreda and been assured that there is now much tighter control and that I can expect different behaviour."

Fry's spending in the role had been "very judicious which gives me confidence that Wreda is now taking this seriously", he said.

As well as buying oysters - including 36 in one sitting at Shed 5, costing $216 - Whelan bought a $155 bottle of Martinborough Vineyard pinot noir and a $135 bottle of Dry River chardonnay at another Shed 5 session, where he tipped staff $60 on the $632 bill.

Whelan's spending reduced after August 2016, a month in which he racked up a $1103 bill at restaurant Zibibbo for a dinner for the boards of Wreda and Creative HQ, where 10 people had three-course Wellington On a Plate meals while drinking Nga Waka pinot noir.

﻿All credit cards expenses were approved by Biggs, who dined with Whelan at Boulcott St Bistro, Whitebait Cafe, Logan Brown, Shed 5 and MariLuca.

Wreda had $24.5 million in revenue last year. Of that, roughly half came from rate and taxpayers, while another quarter came from management fees for running Wellington City Council venues. About one-quarter of its revenue came privately.

About $6m came from other revenue, including the Wellington i-Site information centre.