Wellington.Scoop report by Jem Traylen
They are closed to the public, they are never publicly notified, records of them are never published and last year Wellington City Council held 63 of them. Welcome to the secretive world of council workshops – the behind closed-doors gatherings of councillors that are not counted as ‘meetings’ so long as formal decisions are never made.
RNZ’s Local Democracy Reporting recently surveyed 31 councils and found that 23 of them excluded the public from all of their workshops.
RNZ’s report prompted Wellington City councillor Iona Pannett to begin a campaign to change council practice.
Figures obtained under the Local Government Official Information Act show that last year the number of workshops held by the Wellington City Council shot up from 37 in 2018 and 35 in 2019 to 63 in 2020 – a rate of more than one a week, and all closed to the public.
Hawke s Bay Today reader opinion: How many will shed tears from bubble fallout
23 Apr, 2021 10:36 PM
4 minutes to read
Quarantine free travel between New Zealand and Australia has begun, but beware the potential risk, says a Hawke s Bay Today reader.
Quarantine free travel between New Zealand and Australia has begun, but beware the potential risk, says a Hawke s Bay Today reader.
Hawkes Bay Today
Why are councils issuing resource consents for developments on land that is unsuitable?
According to Scott Richardson, only to get resource consent over the line. The first choice for access to the bike park was via Tait Rd, but the residents weren t having any of it.
Didn t have the guts. - Suspended councillor s final complaint revealed
2 Mar, 2021 07:32 AM
4 minutes to read
Waikato Regional councillor Fred Lichtwark said he was punished for challenging the council s governance processes. Photo / Supplied
Waikato Regional councillor Fred Lichtwark said he was punished for challenging the council s governance processes. Photo / Supplied
Herald reporter based in HamiltonNikki.Preston@nzme.co.nz
A suspended councillor accused a colleague of not having the guts to talk to him in person and being a dirty politician - it was the third and final complaint made about his abusive behaviour.
But ostracised Waikato Regional councillor Fred Lichtwark told the Herald the whole investigation was an example of how to get shafted when you fall out of favour after he challenged councillors about the council s governance processes.