Around the country there are some elected officials who are on the ratepayers’ side: asking the tough questions of officials, and determined to deliver rate increases no higher than is absolutely necessary.
One of those centre-right councillors is our former Grassroots and Engagement Coordinator, Grace Ayling.
After leaving the Taxpayers’ Union to become a mum, Grace stood for her local Wairarapa council, in Carterton.
Grace was elected to the Council on a platform of stopping wasteful spending, such as the huge amounts the small rural council was pumping into cycleways that barely anyone was using. As a young family just starting off on the housing ladder, Grace wants her local council to focus on delivering core services and basic infrastructure well (don’t we all!).
Not only was Grace elected, she walked the talk! Grace is known for respectfully challenging Council officials on spending, rates, (and, yes, cycle ways).
Earlier this month, Grace even made a submission on the Council’s Long Term Plan (10-year budget). You can read her submission here – it is totally consistent with her election platform to seek value for money for ratepayers.
It turns out, officials do not like being challenged by a councillor. Instead of allowing Grace to advocate her well known views (and fulfil on her election promises to advocate for prudent spending) the Council CEO and officials have mounted a campaign to exclude Grace from the council hearings that consider the Long Term Plan/10-year Budget.
The officials claim that a councillor who had expressed views on rates is no longer ‘independent’ and has a conflict of interest in terms of decisions about rates and spending.
Yesterday, on the basis of “informal advice” from Local Government New Zealand, the Council kicked Grace out of the hearings committee (which every councillor usually sits on) because, in the Chair’s view, Grace might not be able to accept other views with an open mind and is therefor ‘conflicted’.
It wasn’t even voted on by councillors (in and of itself a breach of the Council’s standing orders). Officials just ‘determined’ that Grace had to leave.
This is just ridiculous, and an act of censorship.
Deciding the budget is a political process, not a judicial process. Trying to remove voting rights from a Councillor because they have expressed their view that rates are too high is nuts. It’s like saying that a Councillor who wants to stop a library being closed can no longer vote on whether that library closes.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
6 comments:
And "just another EX MP" Ron Mark, is the current mayor of Carterton.
Local Government New Zealand are the "Policy Setters and Enforcers" for the State it seems.
Elected Council Representatives should not only not pay these brown shirts an annual membership fee, they should tell them to whuck right off.
We are seeing this sort of scenario on the rise throughout NZ, whereby the CEO of the Council staff considers themself to be above the Councillors and Mayor. The CEOs seem to forget that that they are employees of the Councils, not vice-versa (see Gore). If I was in Ms Ayling's position I would be demanding a motion of No Confidence in the CEO and requesting an abject apology from the Council for excluding her from the meeting, and from LGNZ for interfering with matters that are not in their remit.
We have enough trouble already with Central Government over-riding elected representatives with appointed commissioners (see Tauranga and Environment Canterbury). We don't need Local Councils' Chairs acting like little dictators.
Laws need to change. A councillor making promises and voted in, should not be expected to abandon those views.
I would have thought that it imperative that all Councillors should respect ratepayer funds and use them wisely, not on vanity projects. Times are difficult financially for all people and rate rises have been and are horrendous. To exclude a Councillor for wanting to limit rate rises to essentials only certainly says plenty about the mind-set of the rest of the Councillors including the Mayor/Chairman. Let us hope that the people of Carterton take note of these Councillors who would spend your money of "nice to have projects" so that you can vote them out at the next local elections.
Seeing as Grace's husband is Leader of the Free Speech Union, I would say that stopping her exercising her rights of free speech is a very unwise course for the Carterton council to take. 😎
Me thinks that Grace Ayling, needs to consult a Lawyer and put hubby at 'arms length' on this matter.
Also she needs to ensure that the Taxpayers' Union are 'asked to remain silent until Legal advice has been give''.
Other Councils that have been and/or are at risk due to lack of due diligence with the Public -
1/- Palmerston North, the duly elected Council have created an issue over cycleways & bus lanes, that the People are now starting to 'speak up and out against'. Sadly the Council 'is not / nor will it listen', as much of the money given for the work done, has come from NZLTA. This is the second time a cycle lane has been imposed, the first on a main road into the City, is hardly used by any person on a bike.
2/- Gore - and the 'shambles that followed the last Local Body elections', for which I am duly advised, that for many in Gore has not been really resolved.
3/ - Tauranga - I will let other readers research this one.
Where is the current Minister of Internal Affairs?
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