Gerry Eckhoff: Local Government

A decade ago, a Local Government NZ representative - reported (in private session) and in rather embarrassed terms, that a poll showed around 80% of the public don’t have very much faith in Local Government at all.  In other words, the civil service is not particularly civil and the service aspect - can be compared to that of a monopoly provider. Everything seems to take 20 working days (or longer) which, with a commercial organization would ensure receivership.  Staff get the blame and councillors get re-elected. The TV character of Basil Faulty put it rather well - that as owner of a hotel, he could run the business perfectly well -were it not for customers.

We now have a review of local Government by those who are immersed in Local Government and have come up with an idea of - pure genius. Let’s lower the voting age to 16 to get more eligible voters. Those aged 18 don’t vote much so maybe 16 year olds will. We can keep lowering the voting age until we get the required result. 

 

The reasons for Local Government appearing to be so dysfunctional all over the country - starts and finishes around a council table. Quite some years ago there was little or no obvious political affiliations as councillors put aside their back grounds and or political beliefs. Recent past elections have seen overtly Green and Labour candidates standing for election which draws into question exactly who they represent and whether the oath of office is little more than a meaningless formality as they take their place around the council table. The battle lines are therefore drawn before debate is enacted as predictable attitudes soon manifest themselves. It’s called predetermination and that is a root cause of council acrimony. To make matters worse, councils are now compelled to accept unelected representatives (Maori) to promote a singular point of view alongside those who must act in the wider interests of the region/district. The oath of office -sworn by councillors - is not required of the Maori appointees. The call for more diversity and broader representation is a nonsense. Given the size of councils balance sheet, it is knowledge, judgment and experience that matters - not age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or street address.

The role of mayor appears to be something of an anachronism. Just why one elected individual (of many) should hold sway over the other elected members and be referred to as “Your Worship” is unclear and is a relic of a bygone era. ‘Your worship’ is a reprounciation and re spelling of the original “Your worthiness” from Anglo Saxon times.  The election of mayor can also have more to do with a successful photo shoot showing good teeth and hair rather than obvious personal success in management of a large business which a council undoubtably is.  A mayors job is to act as spokesperson for the council - not to act independently of it. Regional councils elect a chair from successful candidates which appears to offer a better chance of a successful tenure. It also holds the essential reality that inappropriate or unilateral decisions by a council chair can result in their dismissal should the council so decide. That is a very important sanction not available with a mayor. The highly controversial 3 waters proposal is a great example of the gulf that can occur between a mayor’s personal belief/ambition and a council’s majority decision. There should be no circumstances where a mayor can disregard the council majority view and trapse off to Wellington to support his or her personal view which is contrary to council opinion. Being the district’s spokesperson or district representative is surely to reflect the will of the people within the area and not a personal opinion.

 There should also be a limit as to how many terms a person can serve as a councillor. Name recognition is an important factor in getting re-elected but how many terms serving on council is too many?  Fresh thinking along with new ideas should always be part of debate around the council table. It should never be seen as a job opportunity paying reasonable money for not too many hours.

One of the most problematic issues is the increasing role of council engaging with commercial entities (council-controlled -companies-CCC) as they grasp and enact the “power of general competence” given to them in 2002. It basically means councils can engage in any enterprise they choose. The Dunedin City Council’s ownership of a lines company left ratepayers and customers to rue the day dividends to council became more important than maintenance of the distribution network. Few can serve two masters

It is however the role that councils play as the rule maker, consent adjudicator and prosecutor of their own rules that causes the most concern.  Nobody is entitled to sit in judgement on their own rules which is a long-held tenant of justice.  Even central Government ensures the clear distinction of roles they play.  Government sets the rules/laws, but the courts interpret such laws and enforcement prosecution is left to the appropriate body thereby ensuring completely appropriate and obvious separation of roles. How is it possible for Local Government, who make the rules, to then appoint their own to sit on the hearing panel instead of a completely independent panel, freed from any undue influence from any party to the proceedings. Local government must also be independent and be seen to be independent.

Trust and integrity of process are the hall marks of a well-functioning democracy. There can be no place for those who seek authority and power for their own sake. The situations in China and Russia, where the seedlings of democracy are crushed under the tyranny of false authority and weaponry - must serve as a reminder to us all that our freedoms start – not just with local government but with those who also serve - by challenge and protest.

Gerry Eckhoff is a former councillor on the Otago Regional Council and MP.