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Otago Daily Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Govt planning rules could 'override the community'
New planning rules proposed by the Government could override community aspirations, says a Canterbury council boss. Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said he struggles to see how a proposal to stop councils defining rural-urban boundaries would work. ''If they override something in the planning document, they are not overriding the council - they are overriding the community," he said. Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced proposed changes last week which he said will stop councils from stalling housing developments. ''We have had decades of local councils trying to make housing someone else's problem, and we have a planning system that lets them get away with it,'' Bishop said at the time. The Government proposal would stop councils from imposing rural-urban boundary lines in planning documents. A Rural Urban Boundary identifies land suitable for urban development, and areas to be kept rural. The proposal would give the Government the power remove provisions in council plans which impact on growth, and replacing development contributions with a development levy system, increased flexibility of targeted rates, and strengthening the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act. But Mr Dobbie said preparing a District Plan is ''a long and tortuous process'', as councils strive to find a balance between community aspirations, the need for growth, aspirations of developers and Government legislation. He said rural-urban boundary lines allowed councils to ensure development occurred where there is council infrastructure. Drawing rural-urban boundaries was integral to developing spatial plans, which identified areas for future housing growth and protected agricultural land. The proposal appeared to go against the national direction of developing regional plans, which included spatial planning, to replace district plans, he said. ''I don't know how you can identify areas for housing and agriculture without drawing lines on a map,'' Mr Dobbie said. ''But I might be about to learn something.'' The clause allowing the Government to override District Plan provisions which impacted on growth would be open to interpretation, he said. ''Imagine somebody wanted to build a nuclear power plant or a whale slaughtering station. ''It might be something the community would not want, but the Government would have the power to override it.'' Environment Canterbury chairperson Craig Pauling said the council is considering the proposals and will be making a formal submission. Parts of the region are facing significant population and demographic change, particularly Greater Christchurch, he said. ''We need to make sure we get the balance right, and we're actively safeguarding the environment, as well as social, and cultural values at the same time.'' Any decisions needed to consider the region's infrastructure capacity, housing availability, labour market, transport connectivity and natural hazards. Public consultation on the Going for Housing Growth discussion document closes on August 17. By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
1News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- 1News
'Kick in the guts': Govt knocks back Christchurch council housing plans
The mayor of Christchurch says a government knock-back on its three-year battle to create a custom carve-out of national housing intensification rules feels like a "kick in the guts", but others are welcoming the certainty of the move. On Friday, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop issued a final decision on 17 of 20 recommendations the city council had referred after rejecting recommendations from an independent panel on the council's plan to shape a bespoke Christchurch response to national housing density policy). Minister Bishop rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. In 2021, the then-government released its National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a plan to ramp up housing intensification across most urban areas but focused on the five high growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, amid bi-partisan support for the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, though the National Party would later withdraw its backing. The bill contained Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which detail what development can occur without the need for resource consent, public notification and consultation in the areas identified as most in need of housing intensification. ADVERTISEMENT Those rules were intended to apply across all residential zones in those identified cities, unless "qualifying matters" made intensification inappropriate. The decisions come into effect immediately and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. (Source: In 2022, the council voted to reject the standards, despite warnings that a commissioner could be appointed. Instead, the council began several years of consultation, submissions and hearings on Plan Change 14 - its proposed changes to the district plan that would give effect to the Medium Density Residential Standards, but in a way, it claimed better acknowledged the character and context of the city. The council temporarily halted the process following the last election, and was later granted an extension until the end of this year on some aspects of the plan change. Minister Bishop declined a further extension request last month. The council's stance culminated in an Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), which reported back in the middle of last year. ADVERTISEMENT The council accepted the majority of the IHP's recommendations, which were incorporated into the district plan. But it rejected various aspects of the proposed plan, making twenty counter-recommendations that went to the Minister. The minister announced on Friday he had rejected 14 of the council's recommendations, accepted three and deferred his decision on three more. Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop has rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. (Source: The decision means some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing and taller buildings, while the council will not be allowed to use several different "qualifying matters" to refuse consents even in high density zones - most controversially, one that hinged on the impediment of sunlight and proposed the Garden City should get an exemption because its southern location meant sunlight angles differ. Bishop's announcement locks in changes for areas in and around the CBD, and the "town centres" of Riccarton, Hornby and Linwood, which will be zoned high density residential. Taller buildings will be allowed within 600 metres of shopping areas in some suburbs - 32m (around ten storeys high) for the Hornby shopping area, 14m for high density residential zones surrounding the shopping area, 22m (around six storeys) for Linwood's town centre, and 14m for high density residential zones around it. The council's bids to create qualifying matters on the basis of sunlight access, recession planes (a line or plane which limits how close a building can be to a property boundary), or by location - such as 'the City Spine' (major transport routes) or Riccarton Bush - also failed. Nor did the minster accept areas around Peer Street in Ilam or the Papanui War Memorial Avenues should be excluded from density rules or allowed special consideration. The council proposals the minister did accept were Local Centre Intensification Precinct - intensification around eight of the city's commercial centres, including Barrington, Prestons and Wigram; increasing the building height overlay for the former stock yards site on Deans Avenue (a prime spot adjacent to Hagley Park, currently used as car parking for the Christchurch Hospital shuttle service) to up to 36m; and allowing high density residential zoning for Milton Street (the site of the Milton St substation, which Fletchers plans to build 80 homes on). ADVERTISEMENT All other council alternative recommendations were rejected in favour of the hearing panel recommendations. The minister has deferred decision-making for the heritage listing for Daresbury - a historic home in Fendalton; Antonio Hall - a derelict historic home on Riccarton Rd; and Piko Character Area - a Riccarton residential neighbourhood made up of many original state houses from the 1930s - until the council decided on the underlying zoning. Antonio Hall after a fire in 2019. (Source: "In putting these decisions forward to the government, we obviously wanted to get all of our alternative recommendations approved. So to only have three of them get the tick is a kick in the guts," mayor Phil Mauger said. "This plan change has been a huge undertaking for our city, and we've said right the way through that we want to get the best outcome we possibly can. This doesn't feel like the best outcome. "To that end, we'll keep working hard as a council, and there are still major decisions yet to be made when it comes to housing density and planning across much of Christchurch, so watch this space." New Zealand has one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the OECD. ADVERTISEMENT Urbanist collective Greater Ōtautahi welcomed the minister's decision. Chairperson M Grace-Stent said the decision finally brought some certainty after years of delays, decision making, submissions and hearing panels. "What we're most excited about is that Ōtautahi Christchurch is set up for the future, it has certainty around where it can grow and where it can continue to develop in the future." The decision will not mean apartment buildings spring up overnight, they said. "It's still going to be a slow developing process, just as our cities always continually change. This is just another step." The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport. "Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a reevaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars." ADVERTISEMENT Grace-Stent said the debate touched on ideas embedded in the national psyche about how and where New Zealanders live. They said the quarter-acre dream of a stand alone house on a large section is unsustainable and doesn't not always produce greater social outcomes. "Not everyone wants to live the exact same lifestyle - allowing more housing to be built allows people to make that choice for themselves. So if people want to be living on 1/4 acre block, they're allowed to, and if people want to be living in an apartment close to their friends and amenities and where they work, they also have that choice." They acknowledged that some medium and high-density housing is not built to high standards but said some of that was due to limitations of the current zoning process, which can mean the lowest bidder builds on these sites. "This is just the first step into assuring that everyone has a home that is liveable and that works for them, and is good quality. There also needs to be changes throughout the way that we are think about housing and building houses across the country," Grace-Stent said. The decisions, which come into effect immediately, are final and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city. It was unable to confirm by deadline how much it had spent fighting the density rules, but had budgeted for $7 million between 2021 and the middle of this year. By Keiller MacDuff of
Otago Daily Times
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Council's housing plan knocked back
By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says a government knock-back on its three-year battle to create a custom carve-out of national housing intensification rules feels like a "kick in the guts", but others welcome the certainty of the move. On Friday, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop issued a final decision on 17 of 20 recommendations the city council had referred after rejecting recommendations from an independent panel on the council's plan to shape a bespoke Christchurch response to national housing density policy. Bishop rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. In 2021, the then-government released its National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a plan to ramp up housing intensification across most urban areas but focused on the five high growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, amid bi-partisan support for the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, though the National Party would later withdraw its backing. The bill contained Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which detail what development can occur without the need for resource consent, public notification and consultation in the areas identified as most in need of housing intensification. Those rules were intended to apply across all residential zones in those identified cities, unless "qualifying matters" made intensification inappropriate. In 2022, the Christchurch council voted to reject the standards, despite warnings a commissioner could be appointed. Instead, it began several years of consultation, submissions and hearings on Plan Change 14 - its proposed changes to the district plan that would give effect to the Medium Density Residential Standards, but in a way it claimed better acknowledged the character and context of the South Island city. The council temporarily halted the process following the last election, and was later granted an extension until the end of this year on some aspects of the plan change. Bishop declined a further extension request last month. The council's stance culminated in an Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), which reported back in the middle of last year. The council accepted the majority of the IHP's recommendations, which were incorporated into the district plan. But it rejected various aspects of the proposed plan, making 20 counter-recommendations that went to the Minister. Bishop announced on Friday he had rejected 14 of the council's recommendations, accepted three and deferred his decision on three more. The decision means some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing and taller buildings, while the council will not be allowed to use several different "qualifying matters" to refuse consents even in high density zones - most controversially, one that hinged on the impediment of sunlight and proposed the Garden City should get an exemption because its southern location meant sunlight angles differ. Bishop's announcement locks in changes for areas in and around the CBD, and the "town centres" of Riccarton, Hornby and Linwood, which will be zoned high density residential. Taller buildings will be allowed within 600 metres of shopping areas in some suburbs - 32m (around 10 storeys high) for the Hornby shopping area, 14m for high density residential zones surrounding the shopping area, 22m (around six storeys) for Linwood's town centre, and 14m for high density residential zones around it. The council's bids to create qualifying matters on the basis of sunlight access, recession planes (a line or plane which limits how close a building can be to a property boundary), or by location - such as 'the City Spine' (major transport routes) or Riccarton Bush - also failed. Nor did Bishop accept areas around Peer St in Ilam or the Papanui War Memorial Avenues should be excluded from density rules or allowed special consideration. The council proposals Bishop did accept were Local Centre Intensification Precinct - intensification around eight of the city's commercial centres, including Barrington, Prestons and Wigram; increasing the building height overlay for the former stock yards site on Deans Avenue (a prime spot adjacent to Hagley Park, currently used as car parking for the Christchurch Hospital shuttle service) to up to 36m; and allowing high density residential zoning for Milton St (the site of the Milton St substation, which Fletchers plans to build 80 homes on). All other council alternative recommendations were rejected in favour of the hearing panel recommendations. Bishop has deferred decision-making for the heritage listing for Daresbury - a historic home in Fendalton; Antonio Hall - a derelict historic home on Riccarton Rd; and Piko Character Area - a Riccarton residential neighbourhood made up of many original state houses from the 1930s - until the council decided on the underlying zoning. "In putting these decisions forward to the government, we obviously wanted to get all of our alternative recommendations approved. So to only have three of them get the tick is a kick in the guts," Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said. "This plan change has been a huge undertaking for our city, and we've said right the way through that we want to get the best outcome we possibly can. This doesn't feel like the best outcome. "To that end, we'll keep working hard as a council, and there are still major decisions yet to be made when it comes to housing density and planning across much of Christchurch, so watch this space." New Zealand has one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the OECD. But urbanist collective Greater Ōtautahi welcomed the minister's decision. Chairperson M Grace-Stent said it finally brought some certainty after years of delays, decision-making, submissions and hearing panels. "What we're most excited about is that Ōtautahi Christchurch is set up for the future, it has certainty around where it can grow and where it can continue to develop in the future." The decision will not mean apartment buildings spring up overnight, they said. "It's still going to be a slow developing process, just as our cities always continually change. This is just another step." The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport, the collective believed. "Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a re-evaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars." Grace-Stent said the debate touched on ideas embedded in the national psyche about how and where New Zealanders live. They said the quarter-acre dream of a stand-alone house on a large section was unsustainable and did not not always produce greater social outcomes. "Not everyone wants to live the exact same lifestyle - allowing more housing to be built allows people to make that choice for themselves. So if people want to be living on a quarter-acre block, they're allowed to, and if people want to be living in an apartment close to their friends and amenities and where they work, they also have that choice." They acknowledged that some medium and high density housing is not built to high standards, but said some of that was due to limitations of the current zoning process, which can mean the lowest bidder builds on these sites. "This is just the first step into assuring that everyone has a home that is liveable and that works for them, and is good quality. There also needs to be changes throughout the way that we are think about housing and building houses across the country," Grace-Stent said. The decisions, which come into effect immediately, are final and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city. It was unable to confirm by deadline how much it had spent fighting the density rules, but had budgeted for $7 million between 2021 and the middle of this year.
Otago Daily Times
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Govt knocks back Christchurch council's housing plan
By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says a government knock-back on its three-year battle to create a custom carve-out of national housing intensification rules feels like a "kick in the guts", but others welcome the certainty of the move. On Friday, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop issued a final decision on 17 of 20 recommendations the city council had referred after rejecting recommendations from an independent panel on the council's plan to shape a bespoke Christchurch response to national housing density policy. Bishop rejected the bulk of the council's proposals. In 2021, the then-government released its National Policy Statement on Urban Development, a plan to ramp up housing intensification across most urban areas but focused on the five high growth centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, amid bi-partisan support for the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, though the National Party would later withdraw its backing. The bill contained Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which detail what development can occur without the need for resource consent, public notification and consultation in the areas identified as most in need of housing intensification. Those rules were intended to apply across all residential zones in those identified cities, unless "qualifying matters" made intensification inappropriate. In 2022, the Christchurch council voted to reject the standards, despite warnings a commissioner could be appointed. Instead, it began several years of consultation, submissions and hearings on Plan Change 14 - its proposed changes to the district plan that would give effect to the Medium Density Residential Standards, but in a way it claimed better acknowledged the character and context of the South Island city. The council temporarily halted the process following the last election, and was later granted an extension until the end of this year on some aspects of the plan change. Bishop declined a further extension request last month. The council's stance culminated in an Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), which reported back in the middle of last year. The council accepted the majority of the IHP's recommendations, which were incorporated into the district plan. But it rejected various aspects of the proposed plan, making 20 counter-recommendations that went to the Minister. Bishop announced on Friday he had rejected 14 of the council's recommendations, accepted three and deferred his decision on three more. The decision means some parts of the city will be zoned higher-density housing and taller buildings, while the council will not be allowed to use several different "qualifying matters" to refuse consents even in high density zones - most controversially, one that hinged on the impediment of sunlight and proposed the Garden City should get an exemption because its southern location meant sunlight angles differ. Bishop's announcement locks in changes for areas in and around the CBD, and the "town centres" of Riccarton, Hornby and Linwood, which will be zoned high density residential. Taller buildings will be allowed within 600 metres of shopping areas in some suburbs - 32m (around 10 storeys high) for the Hornby shopping area, 14m for high density residential zones surrounding the shopping area, 22m (around six storeys) for Linwood's town centre, and 14m for high density residential zones around it. The council's bids to create qualifying matters on the basis of sunlight access, recession planes (a line or plane which limits how close a building can be to a property boundary), or by location - such as 'the City Spine' (major transport routes) or Riccarton Bush - also failed. Nor did Bishop accept areas around Peer St in Ilam or the Papanui War Memorial Avenues should be excluded from density rules or allowed special consideration. The council proposals Bishop did accept were Local Centre Intensification Precinct - intensification around eight of the city's commercial centres, including Barrington, Prestons and Wigram; increasing the building height overlay for the former stock yards site on Deans Avenue (a prime spot adjacent to Hagley Park, currently used as car parking for the Christchurch Hospital shuttle service) to up to 36m; and allowing high density residential zoning for Milton St (the site of the Milton St substation, which Fletchers plans to build 80 homes on). All other council alternative recommendations were rejected in favour of the hearing panel recommendations. Bishop has deferred decision-making for the heritage listing for Daresbury - a historic home in Fendalton; Antonio Hall - a derelict historic home on Riccarton Rd; and Piko Character Area - a Riccarton residential neighbourhood made up of many original state houses from the 1930s - until the council decided on the underlying zoning. "In putting these decisions forward to the government, we obviously wanted to get all of our alternative recommendations approved. So to only have three of them get the tick is a kick in the guts," Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said. "This plan change has been a huge undertaking for our city, and we've said right the way through that we want to get the best outcome we possibly can. This doesn't feel like the best outcome. "To that end, we'll keep working hard as a council, and there are still major decisions yet to be made when it comes to housing density and planning across much of Christchurch, so watch this space." New Zealand has one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the OECD. But urbanist collective Greater Ōtautahi welcomed the minister's decision. Chairperson M Grace-Stent said it finally brought some certainty after years of delays, decision-making, submissions and hearing panels. "What we're most excited about is that Ōtautahi Christchurch is set up for the future, it has certainty around where it can grow and where it can continue to develop in the future." The decision will not mean apartment buildings spring up overnight, they said. "It's still going to be a slow developing process, just as our cities always continually change. This is just another step." The city also needed to turn its attention to improving public transport, the collective believed. "Ōtautahi Christchurch definitely needs a re-evaluation of its transport system. We've been calling for the introduction of mass rapid transport across the city to support and facilitate the kind of growth and development that needs to happen, and to make sure that everyone has a choice about how they're getting around the city and aren't forced to just pick cars." Grace-Stent said the debate touched on ideas embedded in the national psyche about how and where New Zealanders live. They said the quarter-acre dream of a stand-alone house on a large section was unsustainable and did not not always produce greater social outcomes. "Not everyone wants to live the exact same lifestyle - allowing more housing to be built allows people to make that choice for themselves. So if people want to be living on a quarter-acre block, they're allowed to, and if people want to be living in an apartment close to their friends and amenities and where they work, they also have that choice." They acknowledged that some medium and high density housing is not built to high standards, but said some of that was due to limitations of the current zoning process, which can mean the lowest bidder builds on these sites. "This is just the first step into assuring that everyone has a home that is liveable and that works for them, and is good quality. There also needs to be changes throughout the way that we are think about housing and building houses across the country," Grace-Stent said. The decisions, which come into effect immediately, are final and cannot be appealed to the Environment Court. The council has until the end of the year to decide on density rules for the rest of the city. It was unable to confirm by deadline how much it had spent fighting the density rules, but had budgeted for $7 million between 2021 and the middle of this year.
Newsroom
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsroom
Mayor Brown has a better offer, turns chair over to restless deputy
Either Wayne Brown is super confident of his re-election in October, or he is just fed up with sitting around listening to colleagues' endless small points over two full days of meetings. For much of Thursday's full council meeting he appeared to want to be anywhere other than calling on councillors for questions or debate, his demeanour increasingly wearied and frustrated by everyone's need to hear the sound of their own voices. At one point he started awarding prizes of Danish pastries for any point made with brevity and salience. The councillors had been at it already for a full day on Wednesday, a budget committee thrashing through the council's 2025/26 Budget, eventually green lighting a 5.6 percent average residential rates rise. By Thursday afternoon, whether from boredom or needing to win the ear of Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop, the first-term mayor left his job of chairing the governing body and turned the chair over to a high-profile deputy who's yet to declare if she will stand against him. Desley Simpson stepped up, as she does, seamlessly guiding the 19 other councillors through the afternoon's debates on subjects that were far from minor. They included a report on the early returns from Brown's prized investment vehicle, the Auckland Future Fund, approving the budget for the Independent Māori Statutory Board, and a major council-CCOs integration project. The Brown-Bishop external meeting from mid-afternoon was at the site of a proposed building project on Karangahape Rd that had been denied planning permission. Bishop favours planning permissions; Brown lives in an apartment just off K Rd. The urgent summit produced one tangible result – a photograph that Bishop tweeted to his X following of the pair and an unnamed person standing on the empty site. Meanwhile, back at the town hall, Simpson directed the final stanzas of the council's day with a degree of confidence that has already started to turn Brown's head in public meetings over the past weeks. Named Brown's deputy after his compelling mayoralty victory in October 2022, Simpson has coyly refused to say through 2025 if she intends to challenge the leader for his chair and chains. A domain name registered by her son last year 'for a laugh' has driven a wedge between the council's top two leaders. Simpson rose to national prominence in early 2023 when Brown was at his lowest point, failing to lead during the Anniversary Day flood disaster. As the new mayor flailed, criticising others and suggesting to Aucklanders he wasn't responsible for the rain, Simpson was active on social media messaging, comforting, calling for resources. Over the past weeks, the pair have been obviously more distanced. Simpson chided Brown for questioning if surf lifesaving clubs deserved council funding as they were, in his experience, glorified babysitting facilities. She interjected: 'Don't say that.' Brown snapped back 'I know a bit about this.' Last week at a committee meeting, as Brown outlined measures to fill a $7m gap in the city's events marketing budget, Simpson asked a question she said she had to ask publicly, on whether he would guarantee the spend from his mayoral budget if other efforts failed. Brown's response: 'You can ask that publicly, if you really must.' Simpson told journalist Simon Wilson of the NZ Herald last week he wouldn't have to wait long to know whether or not she would stand for the mayoralty. 'Timing that works for me,' she said, tantalisingly. 'You'll be surprised.' Desley Simpson chairing Thursday's governing body meeting. Photo: Screenshot from council livestream Taking on Brown would be a substantial undertaking. From the depths of his mishandling of the flooding two years ago, he has ground out budget and policy decisions that have won broad backing from councillors, and has become far more comfortable in his own skin – in real life and in quirky social media posts. Central government leaders josh with him as 'Brownie' and his efforts to fix bits of Auckland's government and finances have won grudging regard from some business and sector leaders. Another councillor, first-termer Kerrin Leoni is also mounting a challenge. Simpson, a self-assured leader and one highly attuned to public sentiment online and in communities, might yet believe a sunnier, younger, still-centre-right candidate could unseat a mayor known for his irascibility and dogmatic approach. Simpson is a deeply popular figure in her home Ōrakei ward, a former member of the National Party-aligned Communities and Ratepayers group that stands candidates around the city, and of course, married to former National Party president Peter Goodfellow. She's been a councillor for three terms. Her personal website says, high up: 'In the 2022 elections Desley received the highest personal vote of any councillor in Auckland (and in New Zealand).' Asked by Newsroom on Thursday evening how it felt to be in the mayoral chair, so close to an election, she made all the right noises. 'Not my first time and probably won't be my last,' she texted. 'Mayor was with Minister Bishop and I supported his decision to leave GB [governing body meeting] to attend that. 'After all, that's what you have a deputy for.' Her text ended with a smiling emoji, wearing sunglasses. A smart, informal, loyal and inscrutable response this close to declaring one way or the other if she might stand against Brown. 'Probably won't be my last' was heavy with realism, humour, intent or perhaps mischief. During his time in the chair across the morning and just after lunch, the mayor had repeatedly told councillors – who of course are not the audience he needs to impress come October – that there had been too much time spent on debates over the council CEO and financial updates. He awarded Josephine Bartley a Danish pastry for being brief and to the point, and told another 'no Danish cake for that one'. Brown listening to contributions at the council meeting on Thursday. Photo: Tim Murphy His jadedness included reminding the meeting that despite comments at the day before's budget session, 'for those not really good at numbers … things are actually pretty bloody good'. At one point, exasperated, he offered: 'If anyone surely can find another bloody comment, I'll have to listen to them.' And some mayoral advice to the councillors: 'If you have got something for the CEO, just drop him a note. We do not all have to endure every thought that crosses everyone's minds.' You could almost hear some of them thinking 'or that comes from that chair … for now'.
