Group seeks extended term for commissioners

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Retaining the Kaipara District Council commissioners beyond 2015 will bring stability and a smooth transition to any unitary local government amalgamation in Northland, says a group of Kaipara residents.

In a letter to the Associate Minister of Lo-cal Government, Louise Upston, in early Decem-ber, the group which represented a wide range of Kaipara ratepayers sought to extend the term of the commissioners until at least late 2016 to coincide with any future rationalisation of local government in the Northland region.

However, there is still no certainty of a binding decision on the future shape of Northland local government by the time next elections for Northland local bodies are held in late 2016.

When a final draft plan for Northland’s council structure is issued by the Local Government Commission, a referendum on the proposed amalgamation can be triggered by 10 percent of ratepayers from any affected District.

That referendum must be held across all affected Districts, namely The Far North, Whangarei and the Kaipara District. This could put any amalgamation proposal back between one and three years.

In this instance, there would be a three-year time gap between when the Kaipara commissioners are scheduled to be replaced by an elected mayor and council and the election of an agreed-upon unitary authority.

Ratepayers in the Hawkes Bay and in Wellington who are facing amalgamation are currently collecting signatures to force such a referendum.

For many of those who signed the letter seeking an extended term for the commissioners, that extension of time doesn’t matter.

Smooth transition back to council Said local business-man D’Arcy Quinn who signed the letter to the Associate Minister: “It’s the continuity that concerns me. Any new council wouldn’t have any history and knowledge of the vast range of issues currently being dealt with by the commissioners.”

“Seeking an extension of their term through to any decision and election of a unitary authority is not about the commissioners themselves, but about an orderly transition,” he said.

“The length of time they need to stay is ir-relevant, it’s about the critical aspect of transition and that’s where the commissioners come in,” he said.

Delivery of the letter seeking a term extension for the commissioners, was signed by more than 50 Kaipara ratepayers from Dargaville through to Mangawhai, and was timed to reach the Associate Minister before a scheduled meeting between the minister and the commissioners in mid-December.

The letter, signed by former Kaipara Council deputy-mayor Mr Ri-chard Bull, told Louise Upston that the reason the group was seeking an extended term for the commissioners was firstly because they had vast knowledge and back-ground information on outstanding litigation facing the council, secondly because the rate-payers could be assured of good financial and compliance governance in the period leading up to rationalization, and lastly ratepayers could be assured that “vested interests in the District would not be able to gain control of any council at a time when local government in the region was in transition.”

However it is unlikely the government will make an early decision on any extension of the commissioners’ appointment beyond their scheduled completion date in October 2015, and probably not before the final

draft plan for the Far North is issued by the Local Government Commission.

MP supports best way forward Asked what he thought of extending the term of the commissioners, Northland MP Mike Sabin said he was supportive of the best pathway to return the Kaipara District back to democracy “in a way and at a time that best serves the rate-payers to have a strong platform to move forward from.”

“I echo the concerns of a number of people across the District that, given the challenges faced by the commissioners, ongoing litigation faced and being undertaken by the council, and the local government reform process underway, that October 2015 may be a real challenge,” he said.

Mr Sabin said he had reflected these concerns to Ms Upston.

Asked whether he would support keeping the commissioners on for longer if any unitary elections were delayed past 2016, Mr Sabin said it would be premature to speculate on any partic-ular outcome, given the multitude of variables in-volved.

Mr Sabin said it was important to note that ratepayers in Kaipara have had, and would con-tinue to have, opportuni-

ties to submit their opinions on local government reform and factors affecting Kaipara.

“I will work to ensure that the views of rate-payers about a return to democratically-elected representatives, regardless of the structure of Northland’s council(s) are well known to the Minister,” he said.

Preventing democracy says MRRA Meanwhile Man-gawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association president Bruce Rogan says the group who sup-ported the retention of commissioners was at-tempting to “prevent democracy returning to Kaipara.”

On his Kaipara Con-cerns website, Mr Rogan said the letter was “the National Party dirty tricks brigade at it again.” “The fact is that Kaipara has been a festering rort and a Ponzi scheme for many years,” he said.

“National Party supporters are getting together to support the government to ensure the commissioners continue their reign of terror and obfuscation until the Kaipara skeletons can be buried in the new unitary authority in 2016,” he said. „ Disclosure: The author was asked by Mr Bull to assist in the preparation of his letter to Ms Upston.

By Peter Nicholas

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