Bluff gorse stoush: Ex-councillor hasn't paid council bill
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A former Invercargill councillor says she has not cleared her bill with the council after they removed gorse from her land more than two years ago.
Karen Arnold has been embroiled in a battle with the organisation since 2022 when her section at Theodore Street, Bluff, began failing inspections due to overgrowth.
A report prepared for a March hearing showed it had drawn three "request for service" complaints and failed eight of 10 inspections.
But Arnold disputes the issue, saying compliance notices from council were unlawful and breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights.
Arnold said she would not pay her share of a $5320 bill for council contractors clearing the section following an October 2022 bylaw notice, despite receiving monthly reminders.
"They keep sending it out, I've ignored it."
Invercargill City Council group manager consenting and environment Jonathan Shaw said a decision was made to split the cost 50/50 with Arnold when she met with council in January 2024.
The section was also the subject of a council hearing in March where [www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/547488/ex-councillor-loses-stoush-over-gorse-covered-land Arnold unsuccessfully appealed] a bylaw notice from December 2024.
Although the panel accepted it was unhelpful that gorse existed on co-owned council land at the boundary of the property, removal still rested with the owner.
"They say that it's got to be cleared again, and I'm not going to do it and so it's going to be the same thing," Arnold said.
"They'll go and clear it and then they'll charge me."
The section backs onto Bluff Hill/Motupōhue, which is co-owned by the council and Department of Conservation.
Arnold claims the council conceded it had failed on a range of issues at a January 2024 meeting where the council's chief executive and lawyer were present.
That included that two compliance notices in 2022 and one from 2023 were unlawful and breached the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, that the council did not manage its gorse under the regional pest management plan until prompted, and that they had a conflict of interest in dealing with her concerns.
In response to questions, Shaw said the council did not accept that gorse was not being managed on its land at Bluff Hill prior to Arnold's complaint.
The cancellation of a December 2023 notice for procedural reasons did not mean the compliance problems raised in the original notice were invalid, Shaw said.
Two councillors on the hearing panel declared conflicts of interest but felt it did not warrant them stepping aside, he added.
"The council staff involved in the decision considered the issues raised by Ms Arnold on each occasion in a fair and balanced manner.
"This included preparing for and attending the hearing, which Arnold chose to leave partway through."
Arnold was elected to council in 2013 and 2016, but stood down near the end of her second term.
She was declared bankrupt in 2018 after losing a defamation suit against Stuff and then-mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt, RNZ reported.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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