Chris Lynch: Unelected council members to lose voting powers

The Government has moved to stop unelected appointees from voting on council committees, saying decision making should rest with representatives chosen by voters.

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.

Dr Don Brash: Hidden in the Agenda: When Your Vote Isn’t Enough

The following is written in Don's capacity as Hobson's Pledge Trustee

While the hard-working people of Otago go about their lives, the Otago Regional Council (ORC) is moving pieces across the board that fundamentally change who makes key decisions in that region.

A few days ago, ORC held a council meeting, and we spotted something in the agenda that made us tune in to the livestream. Decisions were being made about the new Integrated Catchment Management Board (ICM), and yet again, a council was ignoring principles of democracy and appointing unelected members to decision-making roles.