Tauranga commission’s request to Simeon Brown for hybrid council revealed

Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless, commission chairwoman Anne Tolley, and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. Photos / NZME

Tauranga city commissioners have called on the Government to change the law to allow for a ‘hybrid’ governance arrangement with four commissioners and five councillors - instead of a fully elected council - after this year’s election. Kiri Gillespie investigates their reasons, what the minister thinks and why a former mayor believes the move was unethical and “truly disturbing”.

Tauranga’s commission have sought a law change to have the city governed by a mix of commissioners and councillors in what one former mayor describes as a “truly disturbing” move against democracy.

The Bay of Plenty Times can reveal Tauranga City Council’s commission, now in the final months of its term ahead of July’s election, wrote to Local Government Minister Simeon Brown late last year about the hybrid model.

It asked for the council to be governed by four commissioners – one of them a chairperson – and five elected councillors, followed by either a return to a fully-elected council in October 2025, or for a mayor to be elected then, and a full election in 2028.

It referenced a council-commissioned report that recommended the 60/40 split to keep “the commissioners’ institutional knowledge” while avoiding the “significant risks” of an abrupt return to full democracy.

The council said the independent report cost $32,817 plus GST.

The report and the commission’s December 19 letter were released to the Bay of Plenty Times under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

It was not the first attempt by the commission – appointed in 2021 and made up of chairwoman Anne Tolley, Bill Wasley, Shadrach Rolleston, and Stephen Selwood – to extend central Government’s intervention in the council.

Last April it asked then-Local Government Minister and Labour MP Kieran McAnulty for a Crown observer to be appointed post-election, which he declined.

Tolley told the Bay of Plenty Times in February the commission was considering “making the same recommendation” about a Crown observer to the local government minister.

She said this week she did not mention the December request then as she was “not asked about any previous recommendations on other models” and the minister never responded to the request, which required a law change.

The commission wrote to the minister again on Friday confirming its recommendation was for a Crown observer.

‘The stakes are incredibly high’

In the December letter, the commission said “considerable progress” had been achieved but there were 13 key risk areas requiring “proactive leadership” for success and “the benefit of the city”.

The commission’s letter emphasised that “the stakes are incredibly high”.

“The very future of our city as the region’s economic powerhouse, and as a great place to live, work, learn and play, will depend upon the council being led by a high-functioning governance team.”

Tauranga City commissioners: L-R Shadrach Rolleston, Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood, Anne Tolley. Photos / File

The letter quoted the report by consultancy firm Martin Jenkins stating a sudden transition to a fully elected council posed “significant risks”.

“Such a move could jeopardise the hard-earned momentum in advancing critical infrastructural projects initiated to address historical underinvestment … [and] undermine the confidence of strategic partners, investors and stakeholders.”

The report stated it was “vital” new governance arrangements were “carefully tailored” to propel the city and region forward with “assurance and unwavering direction”.

It found immediately reverting to full democracy could result in similar governance issues to those that led to commissioners being appointed after the council was sacked.

“Recently former councillors have explicitly declared their intentions to be re-elected so that they can reverse decisions made by the commissioners,” the report said.

“Public declarations like this align with the observations made by the Review and Observer Team in their report, where they noted ‘the lack of personal acceptance of the role that individual elected members have’.

“There is genuine concern that history may repeat itself,” the report stated.

It could also dent confidence of key funders and private sector entities and lead to “reduced investments in the city”.

‘Truly disturbing’

Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless told the Bay of Plenty Times he believed it was “disingenuous” that Tolley did not refer to the December letter when interviewed in February.

Brownless was mayor from 2016 to 2019 and said he was still undecided whether he would run in the elections this year.

He said in a statement it was his opinion the commission seemed to have “gone behind the backs” of Tauranga residents to try to extend their term.

In his opinion, it was “truly disturbing” the commission appeared to have worked against democracy again.

Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless, pictured in 2019. Photo / Andrew Warner

He also did not agree with the commissioning of the report. In his view, it was an “unethical” use of ratepayer money in “another desperate attempt to cling to power” and “prolong their highly paid jobs”.

The commission was paid more than $921,000 in total for the four members’ part-time work and expenses between July 2022 and June 2023.

Tauranga elected member remuneration is currently set at $172,918 for the mayor plus a pool of $1,198,246 to be split between the 10 other members.

Voters must ‘learn from mistakes’

Urban Task Force chairman Scott Adams said the property organisation supported the appointment of a Crown observer, who would have no authority over an elected council but would regularly report back to the Government.

He said the task force was concerned for the city and it was critical “voters learn from mistakes and vote in the right people”.

”We can’t go relitigating the works that have already been done,” he said.

Scott Adams, Urban Task Force chairman and managing director of Carrus at Panorama Towers on Hamilton Street in Tauranga. Photo / Alex Cairns

“We all know too well the damage that can occur from poor [governance]. We need people who know and have strategic governance ability and business acumen,” Adams said.

“You have to run a city like a business. It has to be focussed on growth. If you don’t grow, you die.”

Tolley responds

Tolley said it was part of the commission’s role to explore options for a successful transition to an elected council.

“In order to do this, we needed to be in a position where we could provide relevant, up-to-date information to the Local Government Minister on our current work programme and the risks associated with overseeing its delivery, together with an understanding of the various options and models available that have been used previously in situations like ours, such as Kaipara District Council and Environment Canterbury.”

It commissioned the report to get independent advice, and it was the commissioners’ “responsibility” to report that advice to Brown to consider.

Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley. Photo / Alex Cairns

She said the commission still believed it was appropriate and responsible to advise Brown of “actions that could be taken to safeguard the interests of the people of Tauranga”.

“A formal letter was sent to the minister on Friday, confirming our recommendation that the minister consider appointing a Crown observer to support the new council elected in July.”

Tolley said she had been “very open in other media interviews” advocating for hybrid models.

Earlier this month, Tolley told Mike Hosking she preferred a hybrid model as democracy sometimes “fails”.

She told the Bay of Plenty Times last week she would finish her term on the commission overseas.

Minister of Local Government’s decision

Asked about the December letter, Brown said he considered the commission’s recommendations and acknowledged “there are high-risk projects” but they were not enough to justify his intervention.

He was “looking forward to seeing democracy return to Tauranga”.

“Local elections are the primary mechanism for communities to exercise their democratic rights and elect their representatives.”

Councils were not able to entrench decisions and the commission had the same powers and responsibilities as elected members.

Brown said he would send his response to the commission in due course.

The Bay of Plenty Times has sought his view on the Crown observer recommendation.

Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.