Will Wellington City Council’s intervention set a precedent?

Wellington Mayor Tori Whānau speaks to the media following the announcement that a Crown observer would be appointed to the city council.
Photo: RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

The government’s appointment of a Crown observer to Wellington City Council has raised fears that other councils could find themselves in the firing line.

Critics say the bar for intervention is too low and that Wellington is far from the only council where councilors are bickering and struggling over money.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced the appointment of a Crown monitor yesterday after Home Office officials identified a number of problems with the council.

The main issue was its ability to manage its long-term plan after the collapse of the sale of its stake in Wellington Airport, and concerns that the council was passing on water costs to taxpayers rather than taking on additional debt financing to spread the costs. Later.

“The purpose of having a Crown observer is to assist council in addressing these issues as they review their long-term plan for the benefit of Wellington ratepayers,” Brown said.

Brown said that unlike the commissioner, the supervisor would not have any authority to lead the board or make decisions. He will be able to make recommendations and recommendations and then make recommendations. The mayor and council members are responsible for the decisions they make.

The announcement came as no surprise to Wellington Mayor Tori Whānau.

“I know the minister has been concerned about some things over the last few weeks, so I welcome his intention to bring in an observer,” she said.

But Brown’s comments on water infrastructure did come as a surprise, with Whānau saying the council would invest $1.8 billion in a long-term plan and intend to move to a regional model that would further improve its financial position.

Labor said many councils were struggling to fund their mandates, especially after the government changed water legislation.

He noted that funding and financing tools for water infrastructure are still not available.

Leader Chris Hipkins said if this is the threshold required for a monitor, he expects other councils across the country will also receive intervention.

“I think the threshold for this kind of intervention should be quite high. My concern is that if they’re doing it for Wellington City Council, they could do it for other councils in relatively short order,” he said.

Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said councils across New Zealand were under-resourced. She said the Government had promised to put in place city agreements to help councils with funding and funding and questioned where they were.

“It’s clear there are problems, but WCC members are elected locally and the government likes to talk a lot about localism, so let’s see how that plays out in practice.”

Whenau also believed her advice was no exception.

“Boards often amend their long-term plans. It’s no different than this,” she said.

“However, I understand that there has been a lot more media attention, a lot more political theater around this issue and that the minister has concerns. That’s okay, we’re going to work together with him. I certainly hope this doesn’t happen. I am setting a precedent among other councils.”

She said other boards were concerned about the interference and elected members across the country shared their support with her and the board.

Combining two problems

Dr Dean Knight, a law professor at the University of Victoria, said the government’s action was overkill.

He said if balance sheet management and the cancellation of the airport share sale were behind the decision, it was a low bar for intervention.

“(The minister) took two political differences, ideological policy differences, and glued them together to try to engineer what is clearly a serious problem. And I’m just not sure that’s right,” he said.

Brown didn’t believe council members could work together to solve them.

“There is a lack of confidence that they will be able to resolve these issues based on the council’s conduct,” he said.

Whānau admitted it was unhelpful that councilors walked out of meetings or refused to vote.

But Knight said disagreements between councilors on sensitive issues are a natural part of a democratic system and the public has the opportunity to judge them at elections.

“If this low bar is applied in the future, the government is looking to sack councils across the country over the next year or so. Unless something else happens in Wellington that is more political than good governance.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis, herself a Wellingtonian, did not believe other councils were being targeted.

“It’s just that we as a government are making it clear that when Wellingtonians feel frustrated by their advice and things are going south, we will use our statutory powers to provide appropriate support and advice.

Coalition partners struck two different tones in their support for the intervention.

“It’s time for the government to intervene, mildly at first, but this shows what we’re seeing,” said ACT leader David Seymour.

“I am concerned that a city that was once vibrant is being destroyed. This is the worst I’ve ever seen in my long career coming to Wellington,” said New Zealand Firsts leader Winston Peters.

“I attribute this to political interference and bureaucratic interference, with no regard for how the city functions properly with thriving businesses and what are called customers.”

Whanau said such criticism is unhelpful.

“We need help. Don’t push,” she said.

Knight said some of the uncertainty around water was the fault of the central government.

“The government, led by the national government, has decided to change the direction of water infrastructure development and the way it is financed. All local authorities will need time to catch up and organize their affairs and their programs in light of the new conditions and settings that are yet to come.”

He said the government was playing a big game of devolution and localism.

“Unfortunately, I think their actions and their involvement here make us seriously question whether they really believe this,” he said.

Ironically, given all the attention to spending, the council will have to pay the Crown monitor’s salary. Whānau didn’t know how much it would cost.