Residents survey reveals ‘distrust'
Better communication, more genuine consultation and greater transparency are key lessons from a survey of Queenstown Lakes residents, councillors say.
"Stinging" and "sombre" were some of the adjectives they used at a council workshop yesterday to describe the results of the survey, which was released last week.
Conducted by an independent market research company earlier this year, the survey delivered some confronting results, such as only 17% of respondents thinking the council made decisions in the best interests of the district.
Council policy data analyst Nathan Brown said the results reflected a "general distrust and unhappiness" with the council, and a perception by residents they were not being listened to.
Deputy mayor Quentin Smith said trust in the council had taken a hit over the Wānaka Airport lease issue, and the trend had only worsened in the years since.
Cr Niki Gladding said staff tended to "manipulate" community engagement, either "conscious or subconsciously".
Staff bias had crept into consultation on such issues such as Project Manawa, Lakeview and outdoor dining fees.
Councillors were "constantly being denied information we need to make decisions", Cr Gladding said.
Cr Esther Whitehead said that the council needed to be more transparent and improve its communications.
She often read online comments by people who clearly did not know much about the issue they were concerned about.
Cr Cody Tucker said it was "frustrating" to read online comments by people he had known for many years, but who never contacted him directly about their concerns.
Cr Lisa Guy said some online criticism was "made up and personal", but there was plenty to improve on.
She gave the council's website an example of an "amateur hour" level of service.
"I hate searching our website — I can't find things."
Cr Gavin Bartlett said some of the community's frustration was due to a lack of understanding of how local government worked.
Some people thought it was easy to get things done and fix problems, and believed councillors were intent on pursuing personal agendas.
"Anyone who sits in a council meeting knows that's not the case."
Mayor Glyn Lewers said the council was dealing with an "all-encompassing" level of growth, but he would rather be mayor of a town that was growing than one that was not.
The survey results were a "baseline", and the council would take the next few months to absorb the lessons.
"I don't think we should be too hard on ourselves".
guy.williams@odt.co.nz
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