Latest news with #LocalGovernmentNewZealand
Otago Daily Times
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Alley, Quinn to contest mayoralty
Central Otago Mayor Tamah Alley. PHOTO: ODT FILES The race is on with two candidates putting up their hand for the mayoral chains in Central Otago. It will the first election either contestant has faced because sitting mayor Tamah Alley was appointed by her fellow councillors following the resignation of her mentor Tim Cadogan. Mr Cadogan left office at Labour Weekend last year, timing his resignation to avoid a by-election as it was within a year of the next round of local body elections. Mrs Alley, a former police officer and two-term councillor, was appointed by the district councillors at a meeting on October 30. Before being appointed as interim mayor, Mrs Alley was the only Local Government New Zealand zone chair who was not a mayor or deputy mayor. Challenging Mrs Alley is Roxburgh resident Mark Quinn. He is the founder of Challenging Councils — a movement set up to reclaim control over local government decisions and ensure councils are operating in a fair and transparent manner. He could not be contacted yesterday. Mr Quinn's LinkedIn profile says he worked as a self-employed troubleshooting business consultant, as a quotes administrator for Mitre 10 in Rangiora, and as a shellfish manager for Talleys in Motueka before being self-employed for the past 10 years. Currently, Mr Quinn has an almond orchard in Roxburgh. He has been travelling the country holding meetings for Challenging Councils. Challenging Councils' website says it is time for action and to hold councils to account for rising rates and council debt. It says Challenging Councils is not political, incorporated, funded or conspiracy theorists.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Napier deputy mayor wins Superhuman award but reveals she's stepping down
The lineup in a proud moment for the Napier City Council and Napier Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan – the SuperHuman Award winner on the Local Government New Zealand big night in Christchurch. From left: councillor Keith Price, council chief executive Louise Miller, regional councillor Sophie Sears and chair Hinewai Ormsby, Napier councillor Sally Crown, Annette Brosnan, Mayor Kirsten Wise, LGNZ president Sam Broughton, and Mana Ahuriri Trust general manager Parris Greening. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. The lineup in a proud moment for the Napier City Council and Napier Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan – the SuperHuman Award winner on the Local Government New Zealand big night in Christchurch. From left: councillor Keith Price, council chief executive Louise Miller, regional councillor Sophie Sears and chair Hinewai Ormsby, Napier councillor Sally Crown, Annette Brosnan, Mayor Kirsten Wise, LGNZ president Sam Broughton, and Mana Ahuriri Trust general manager Parris Greening. Napier Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan is going out on a winning note – capping 12 years on the city council by receiving the Local Government New Zealand SuperHuman – Tū Kaha Award and confirming in almost the same breath that she isn't seeking re-election this year. But, from Christchurch Airport, awaiting a flight home after a 'dusty' time celebrating the receipt of the honour on Thursday, she indicated she may be back, saying: 'I am confirming I'm standing down, not seeking re-election for this term.' As for the award, and despite some conjecture as to what a local body politician needs, SuperHuman doesn't mean she's pulling weights, and she's not Popeye. 'No tattoos, no spinach,' she said. Brosnan, husband Greg, and their son and daughter, both born during her time on council, are off backpacking to see the world. The four-term councillor is urging others to put their names forward for the local elections in October, nominations for which close on August 1.
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Ray Chung vile email scandal: Two more Independent Together candidates quit
At 9:05pm last night, Northern Takapu ward candidate Andrea Compton said in a statement she too was ending her association with the group. Within the hour Pukehīnau Lambton ward candidate Dan Milward also quit the group. 'Like many others, I was surprised by the recent allegations and the subsequent media coverage storm' he said. 'When my wife was threatened by the agitators at our final roadshow event in Wellington CBD on Tuesday night, I knew it was time to take a different approach.' Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung at a rally. Photo / Mark Mitchell Videos posted to social media have seen public meetings held by the group descend into chaos with hecklers and event organisers clashing. When contacted for comment, Chung said he 'didn't know' about the departures. He was at the Local Government New Zealand conference on Thursday and said he hadn't communicated with anyone all day. In a statement, an Independent Together spokesman blamed the media scrutiny over the email scandal - rather than the lewd email itself - for the departures. 'The political machinations at play have an enormous psychological impact for all of the candidates', the statement said. 'The accompanying media coverage and the scrutiny on the team has been intense.' They are not the first to leave the group. Engineering firm director Phil McConchie, Cuba Barbers owner Mike Petrie, and Melissa Moore had all disappeared from the group's website before Chung's official campaign launch in June. Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung at his campaign launch. Photo / Ethan Manera. Chung said at the time that they each left after the group was launched in April, as they struggled to manage the commitments needed to run for council with their own professional demands. Chung said he was 'not fussed' by the departures and didn't think it was a bad look for Independent Together. He said he was glad they left before they had officially declared their candidacy with the council. Tory Whanau said Chung emailed her an apology on Monday, the same day Prime Minister Christopher Luxon slammed Chung's comments. 'That was unacceptable content in that email, really pretty vile and unacceptable stuff', Luxon said when asked about it at his post-Cabinet press conference. The email's existence has also cost Chung an important backer, with rich-list philanthropist Sir Mark Dunajtschik officially withdrawing his support for the mayoral candidate. Chung has called the situation a 'blatant political attack' and a 'smear campaign'. Six candidates, including Chung, remain on the Independent Together ticket for the upcoming Wellington City Council election. Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Councils under pressure as government pushes ‘back to basics' agenda
Increasingly loud demands that councils rein in spending have made for a fractious week between ministers and mayors, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Ministers and mayors air out their differences The relationship between central and local government was extra prickly this week, with a fresh suite of reforms tabled in Wellington and ministers getting a somewhat frosty reception in Christchurch at the Local Government New Zealand conference. The Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, which passed its first reading last night , will remove councils' legal responsibility to consider the 'four wellbeings' – social, cultural, environmental and economic – when making decisions. Instead, councils will be legally obliged to prioritise so-called 'core services' like water, roads and rubbish. Opening the conference, the prime minister pitched the changes as a return to basics, saying ratepayers wanted councils to '[prioritise] pipes over vanity projects'. But among the mayors gathered in Christchurch, frustration was palpable at the expectation that they somehow, as Newsroom's David Wiliams put it, 'achieve the triumvirate: upgrading infrastructure, holding down rates, and keeping debt in check'. Clutha mayor Bryan Cadogan said ministers refuse to admit they're demanding the impossible. 'The Government knows it, we know it, but we just keep on getting this.' Councils fed up with policy whiplash That frustration is compounded by the sense that councils are forever adapting to the whims of central government. The four wellbeings, for instance, have now been added and removed from the Local Government Act four times since 2002 – inserted twice by Labour governments, stripped out by National. 'Every time we have an election, there's a flip-flop,' said LGNZ president Sam Broughton. As Shanti Mathias reports this morning in The Spinoff, he and others also pushed back at the government's suggestion that councils are blowing money on 'nice-to-haves' like bike lanes and 'fancy toilets'. In his own district of Selwyn, Broughton said, 80% of spending goes to key infrastructure like pipes and roads, with the rest funding services that communities still see as essential. Coalition partners not convinced on rate caps One of the other changes introduced in the new bill is benchmarking – mandatory, comparative performance reporting on council spending, rates, debt and outcomes. While this information is already publicly available, the law will now require councils to collate it into reports. Deputy PM David Seymour is a fan: he told the Christchurch conference that 'some healthy competition between councils is long overdue'. He also cheered the removal of the wellbeing requirements, which he dubbed the Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream Bill when they were proposed by Labour, for the second time, in 2017. However Seymour later expressed reservations about local government minister Simon Watts' proposed cap on rates increases. 'Don't cap your income until you've got your spending under control,' he warned. NZ First leader Winston Peters was even blunter, RNZ's Lillian Hanly reports. 'Doctor, heal thyself,' Peters opined, arguing that central government's own spending record left it in no position to preach to others about fiscal restraint. Tikanga or 'red tape'? Seymour's speech also ignited controversy with his attack on what he called 'ceremonial chanting' in the consenting process – a reference to clauses in resource consents requiring karakia or other tikanga Māori. As Māni Dunlop reports in Te Ao Māori News, the line was in his prepared remarks but not in the speech he delivered at the conference. However Seymour doubled down later that day, claiming that developers were backed into a corner over karakia, believing they had to allow their use to avoid controversy. The comments brought Seymour his second rebuke of the week from Peters: 'Why am I responding to what David Seymour doesn't know? Excuse me,' said the NZ First leader, adding that he had spent much of his career defending the 'right protocol'. Karakia, he said, are 'appropriate when used correctly'. Writing in The Spinoff, Liam Rātana notes that such clauses are typically inserted by mutual agreement to build respectful relationships with mana whenua, and argues that Seymour's complaints are based on misunderstandings of both tikanga and how consent conditions actually work. 'While highlighting these clauses as unnecessary 'red tape' and 'roadblocks', Seymour says his changes will put 'power back with communities',' Liam writes. 'I wonder which communities he's talking about?'
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
The tension between central and local government bubbles to the surface
Local government says it needs certainty from central government beyond election cycles. Central government says local government is wasting money on unnecessary projects. Who's right? Simon Watts, minister for local government, has kids. He's learned that when you give them a full day free to do whatever they want, they might 'make some bad choices'. But give them five options, and they can pick the one they want to do. He's on stage at SuperLocal, Local Government New Zealand's annual conference in Christchurch, answering a question about the government's move to stop 'wellbeing' and 'the environment' being part of councils' remit. 'People don't have an appetite for nice-to-haves,' he says. 'You weren't elected to make easy decisions, you were elected to make difficult decisions. The best thing I can do is to help you on that journey.' Broadcaster Miriama Kamo, hosting the discussion, pointed out that some local government members might not appreciate the metaphor. 'That's a bit patronising, mate,' someone yelled from the audience. At SuperLocal, the tension between central government and local government is nearly palpable. A brief, videoed address from Christopher Luxon is met with about three people applauding. With RMA reform and a potential rates cap on the agenda, the government is saying that councils are spending too much money on unnecessary projects. Councils are saying that actually, they are focusing on basics – and ever-changing directions from central government is a waste of their resources. Chris Bishop, the minister for RMA reform, addressed attendees at a plenary session. 'Ratepayers don't care what Greenstar rating your new council facilities have or whether some international architectural body thinks your latest build is pretty or not. The only awards your projects should be winning are for cost efficiency and effectiveness,' he said. There was an audible groan somewhere in the room. He kept going, talking fast to get through his speech, saying that councils needed to be better at planning for housing growth and that the government needed to make this easier. He promised two bills by November: one to replace the development contributions system so that developers pay more for infrastructure their new housing will require, and another to fund infrastructure development. Bishop's key announcement was also aimed at council efficiency: with whatever replaces the RMA on the way, he is removing (in most cases) the requirement for councils to take the RMA into account when making their plans. 'Plans completed under the RMA may be incompatible with the new system,' he said. Most plan changes will have to wait until the new system is in place, although particularly urgent changes, or changes related to Treaty settlements or natural hazards, will be exempt. 'Minister Bishop's announcements today were really good for local government to hear, with some certainty about where the RMA is going, [and] the timeframes around when we're going to hear further announcements,' said Sam Broughton, Selwyn District mayor and president of Local Government New Zealand, at a press conference afterwards. On the whole, though, local government is frustrated, because they feel that they're not using their budgets on 'nice to haves'. 'If I use my council as an example, 80% of our spend is on water pipes, wastewater pipes and transport systems. So the other 20%, you've got to include your recycling, your rubbish, your pools, the things that actually communities still think are essential.' To Broughton, and local government in general, changing directives from central government make it hard to plan long term, making councils more inefficient and wasting resources. 'Every time we have an election, there's a flip-flop, and it's just a distraction from us getting on with the work,' he said. One government wants wellbeing and environment to be part of plans; the next doesn't. One government wants to overhaul the RMA in one way; the next wants to overhaul the RMA in another way. 'We need ways of doing things so changes of government don't rip up previous governments' work – a pipeline of work that is agreed cross-party,' Broughton said. To prevent what he sees as wasteful council spending, the government is investigating legislation that would cap how much rates can rise, said Watts. 'It has to achieve the outcome that we're looking for.' The giant Taxpayers' Union truck parked outside the Te Pae conference centre emblazoned with pictures of mayors and how much rates have increased in their regions is a reminder of vested interests in this issue. But linking rates to household inflation doesn't make sense, Broughton said; much of what councils spend money on isn't in the CPI basket. 'Rates capping itself is actually a discussion about who makes decisions locally about what's delivered. Is it central government? Is it more power to Wellington?' Broughton said, mentioning that New Zealand is one of the most centralised countries in the OECD, with central government controlling the vast majority of government spending. Part of Wednesday's conference session was the release of an LGNZ-commissioned report quantifying local government's economic contributions: $20.1 billion operational and capital expenditure, $2.2bn in public administration and $500 million in long-term productivity gains. 'There's some basic things that councils have to get involved in because central government isn't stepping up to fit the needs of local communities,' said Broughton. His council is funding a health centre, because many people in Selwyn have to leave the district to go to the doctor. While there's certainly tension between central and local government, there's also a desire to get things done. Broughton was asked about Simon Watts' 'kids' comment at the stand-up. 'I think people like to play politics around language,' he said. 'But Minister Watts has also said he wants a situation where we sit around the table as adults. Councils get elected locally to think about what's in the best interest of their local community. And that is really hard work that requires mature minds.'
