Local Government Minister Simon Watts announced changes to the Local Government Act 2002 that would mean voting rights on council committees would be made only for elected councillors.
Watts said the change would strengthen democratic accountability and address concerns raised by councils and members of the public.
He said examples had emerged around New Zealand where unelected individuals, including iwi representatives and people under the age of 18, had been appointed to council committees and granted voting rights.
Under the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act 2022, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu appoints up to two members to the council.
These appointees are full councillors with the same voting and decision-making authority as the 14 elected councillors.
Under the proposed changes, councils would still be able to appoint non elected members to committees to provide expertise, advice and community representation.
However, those appointees would no longer be able to vote and would not count towards a quorum.
Watts said statutory committees and appointments established through Treaty settlements would be excluded from the changes.
Committee members appointed under legislation outside the Local Government Act would also retain voting rights.
ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton welcomed the announcement.
“Today is a massive win for ratepayers and local democracy. ACT has been pushing hard to close this anti-democratic loophole, and I’m pleased Local Government Minister Simon Watts has finally taken up a version of my Member’s Bill to get it done,” Luxton said.
“Our position has always been simple. If you haven’t faced the voters, you shouldn’t have a vote on how their money is spent.
“Across New Zealand, councils have increasingly handed voting rights to unelected appointees. Whether they represent iwi, industry groups, youth councils, or any other interest, giving unelected people the power to make decisions on behalf of ratepayers undermines democratic accountability.”
“ACT’s local councillors have been leading the fight against this trend on the ground,” he said.
“In the Far North, ACT Councillor Davina Smolders exposed plans to give 10 unelected iwi representatives voting rights on a committee of just 16 members. As she pointed out, that creates governance structures where those making decisions are not accountable to the people paying the bills.
“In Otago, ACT Councillor Robbie Byars has been standing up against proposals to grant voting rights to unelected mana whenua representatives.
“While our councillors have been fighting these battles around council tables, I have been applying the pressure in Wellington. I drafted a Member’s Bill to strip these voting rights from the Local Government Act and spent months persistently lobbying Simon Watts to adopt it. Today, the Minister is adopting this change and making it the law of the land.
“Councils remain free to seek advice and input from whoever they choose. Consultation is important. But when it comes to making decisions and casting votes, accountability matters.
“The people making decisions on behalf of ratepayers should be the people ratepayers can vote out.”
The changes will be included in the Local Government (System Improvements) Bill currently before Parliament.
If passed, councils will have six months to review committee structures, delegations and appointments before the law takes effect.
Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. This article was originally published by Chris Lynch Media and is published here with kind permission.
He said examples had emerged around New Zealand where unelected individuals, including iwi representatives and people under the age of 18, had been appointed to council committees and granted voting rights.
Under the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act 2022, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu appoints up to two members to the council.
These appointees are full councillors with the same voting and decision-making authority as the 14 elected councillors.
Under the proposed changes, councils would still be able to appoint non elected members to committees to provide expertise, advice and community representation.
However, those appointees would no longer be able to vote and would not count towards a quorum.
Watts said statutory committees and appointments established through Treaty settlements would be excluded from the changes.
Committee members appointed under legislation outside the Local Government Act would also retain voting rights.
ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton welcomed the announcement.
“Today is a massive win for ratepayers and local democracy. ACT has been pushing hard to close this anti-democratic loophole, and I’m pleased Local Government Minister Simon Watts has finally taken up a version of my Member’s Bill to get it done,” Luxton said.
“Our position has always been simple. If you haven’t faced the voters, you shouldn’t have a vote on how their money is spent.
“Across New Zealand, councils have increasingly handed voting rights to unelected appointees. Whether they represent iwi, industry groups, youth councils, or any other interest, giving unelected people the power to make decisions on behalf of ratepayers undermines democratic accountability.”
“ACT’s local councillors have been leading the fight against this trend on the ground,” he said.
“In the Far North, ACT Councillor Davina Smolders exposed plans to give 10 unelected iwi representatives voting rights on a committee of just 16 members. As she pointed out, that creates governance structures where those making decisions are not accountable to the people paying the bills.
“In Otago, ACT Councillor Robbie Byars has been standing up against proposals to grant voting rights to unelected mana whenua representatives.
“While our councillors have been fighting these battles around council tables, I have been applying the pressure in Wellington. I drafted a Member’s Bill to strip these voting rights from the Local Government Act and spent months persistently lobbying Simon Watts to adopt it. Today, the Minister is adopting this change and making it the law of the land.
“Councils remain free to seek advice and input from whoever they choose. Consultation is important. But when it comes to making decisions and casting votes, accountability matters.
“The people making decisions on behalf of ratepayers should be the people ratepayers can vote out.”
The changes will be included in the Local Government (System Improvements) Bill currently before Parliament.
If passed, councils will have six months to review committee structures, delegations and appointments before the law takes effect.
Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. This article was originally published by Chris Lynch Media and is published here with kind permission.
9 comments:
Congratulations ACT , well done , practical and sensible governance . However six months to review council structures is too long and should be immediate .
I guess the only question is, will the six elected members on the FNDC Committee have the gumption to stare down the ten unelected Iwi representatives, and vote against them? Intimidation and fear of courting controversy can be powerful motivators.
"and spent months persistently lobbying Simon Watts to adopt it. Today, the Minister is adopting this change and making it the law of the land."
There lies the problem - why could Watts not see the problem ?
Why didn't he do something about it without pressure from anyone ??
How many people like me wrote to him and got a vague response ?
Why is it going to take 6 months to take effect ???
How much more damage, which will be near impossible to roll back, will be forced through in the meantime ?
Ardern rushed this sort of thing through overnight under Urgency - why will National not do similar ?
Weak politicians, weak legislation.
Not good enough.
I’m not counting any chickens.
“If passed,” means it is uncertain and if it is passed, how long will that be? Even then, it will still be another six months before the law takes effect, by which time we could have another Government and who knows how much damage.
Even then there will still be undemocratic, non-elected votes: 1) Appointments established through Treaty settlements would be excluded from the changes; and 2) Committee members appointed under legislation outside the Local Government Act would also retain voting rights.
And councils would still be able to appoint non-elected, non-voting members to committees.
We are being conditioned to accept 2 steps back being addressed with 1 step forward. That’s incremental Maori sovereignty and it’s not good enough.
I want democracy. I want my country back. I want a complete fix. And I want it now.
That’s not too much to ask.
If Parliament was able, and did pass a law making it easier to organize a boxing match, over the weekend, under Urgency, why wasn't this passed under urgency ?
Watts, Luxon are not demonstrating any real will to restore democracy - 6 months to get this through - what a waste of time.
National have revealed themselves as unbelievably ... w e a k ..... and ... t i m i d... in the face of a public wanting the damage done by their predecessors to be rectified. Soon As! Alas the other lot are even w o r s e !!! Time a dreaming generation actually experienced war...... and discovered COURAGE. Maybe thats next??
It should have happened a year or two ago.
Ultimately, I believe, public pressure on these con artists will get the job done, once the legal framework is in place.
Isn't democracy the rule of the majority?
It's a numbers game, as has been demonstrated, unfortunately, in South Africa.
Talking to an ex pat last week - what really hit home to me was she said that 'there's no point in voting'.
Makes you think, eh?
Ameni
Prime Minister's office admits climate lobbying document was sent to staffer’s private email account
Hmm who owns New Zealand again?
I agree with Barrie, Basil and the other comments above - mainly in regard to the reticence shown by National/Watts on this as I do not trust half-hearted 'solutions'. This requires a swift kicking and thorough piece of legislation, administered and put through under urgency. Also, the second comment about the FNDC elected members misses the point that of all the elected Councillors as only one in the shape of Davina has 'gumption'. Up here we have a council that is overweighted with iwi by dint of four Maori ward reps. Those voted on in general ward seats are fair enough as that is democracy but even that has been rather skewed in the Far North IMHO.
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