Editorial: Some secrets should be kept

Openness and honesty are bedrocks of democracy but there are occasions when good governance requires matters to be dealt with behind closed doors.

Tauranga City councillor Murray Guy expressed his displeasure in yesterday's Bay of Plenty Times that a workshop dealing with the heavily-indebted Route K toll road was going to exclude the public.

Mr Guy said the report for the workshop read like a normal meeting agenda, with recommendations from staff. The report identified some of the ways forward for Route K.

Mr Guy said it was a critical community issue that should be discussed in the open.

There is no doubt that Route K continues to be a major problem for the council.

Despite warnings when the road was first proposed, use of the road has never met projections.

Debt had doubled to nearly $60million since the road opened in 2003. If no alternative arrangement can be made, tolls will need to be levied on this road for another 27 years.

The knight in shining armour for this road must be the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

Mr Guy believed that the fairest outcome would be for the Crown to take over Route K on the basis of today's valuation of the road.

And that's where the need for secrecy comes in.

The council's acting chief executive Christine Jones said the workshop related to negotiations with the NZTA and you can understand why the council wouldn't want material released that is crucial to their case.

The council workshop has been tasked with finding a way forward for Route K and presenting ideas and direction to a full council meeting next month. Then council will decide whether this issue needs to remain behind closed doors.

The council has in the past been accused of secrecy in the way it conducts its business.

Although some of the criticism has been justified, some times the means justify the ends and in this case, being able to move Route K off the council books is the ultimate objective.