Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga had already put a resolution nominating five councillors before the three other councillors had the opportunity to put their names forward.
Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga had already put a resolution nominating five councillors before the three other councillors had the opportunity to put their names forward.
Opinion
Simin Williams is a concerned Tairāwhiti resident who is interested in democratic processes.
The Local Leadership Body is a forum for Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata and Gisborne District Council to work together on significant issues. It results from the Ngāi Tāmanuhiri Claim Settlement Act 2012 but this is the first time it is being constituted. It is made up of the mayor, five councillors and six members of the three iwi.
OPINION
Following the Three-Year Plan hearing on Thursday, May 16, the councillors carried on to discuss the Local Leadership Body (LLB).
As I had never heard about the LLB before, I listened to find out about it. What astounded me, though, was the manner of the nominations to this committee.
The LLB is supposed to have six members appointed by iwi and six members (including the mayor) appointed by the council.
Before any discussions about the time commitments needed for LLB or asking for any expression of interest from councillors, Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga moved a motion appointing three councillors from the Māori ward - Crs Tibble, Pahuru-Huriwai and Parata (who wasn’t even in the meeting!) - and two councillors from the General Ward, Crs Gregory and Cranston. This was seconded by Cr Ria, also from the Māori ward.
Cr Telfer brought up the issue of three council nominations having iwi affiliations and hence perception of conflict of interest - not to mention the actual conflict of interest for some.
The ensuing discussion was really interesting in its own right and the issues that were brought up, but here I only want to focus on the selection process itself.
Councillors Robinson, Foster and Alder expressed their interest in representing council on the LLB and their reasons for doing so.
There was some discussion on the proper, democratic way to handle the issue, as Cr Wharehinga had already put a resolution nominating five councillors before the three other councillors had the opportunity to put their names forward.
One way was for Cr Wharehinga to withdraw his motion. He refused to do so and gave his reason for putting forward his selection of five candidates in this manner - so things wouldn’t get complicated!
He added that putting up other candidates now would diminish the pool of those who can vote, because those who put their own name forward would be conflicted; they could not vote for themselves, and they would be biased against voting for others (i.e. those selected by Josh!)
The next thing, Cr Wharehinga’s motion, seconded by Cr Ria, was voted in by Cr Wharehinga himself, Cr Ria, the mayor and those who were appointed by Cr Wharehinga (no conflict there!) and by Cr Robinson and another Māori Ward councillor, Cr Tupara.
Crs Thompson, Telfer, Foster and Alder voted against the motion.
What a mockery of democracy! Why not let Cr Wharehinga do all the nominations for all council appointments? He can choose people he sees fit, and prevent things getting complicated!!
Anyone on any board must see this video and learn a thing or two from Cr Wharehinga about how to appoint people you want and outsmart pesky democracy. The trick is to pre-empt the nomination process before others put their hands up!
Had I not seen this meeting video with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed such mockery of democracy is even possible. One thing I can say for sure is that LLB is not off to a good start. It is already compromised, thanks to some people thinking they know what is best and pushing forward their own selection. Truly disgraceful!
Footnote response from Deputy Mayor Josh Wharehinga:
Kia ora Simin, I wish we could have had a kōrero about this afterwards so I could clear up your very understandable misconceptions.
Council decision-making and process is based on the Westminster model so can seem very astounding, as you put it. It astounded me also, for my whole first term.
The democratic process is to read the papers so your elected councillors already understand what’s being voted on (including the time commitments, etc), move a recommendation, discuss and then councillors vote on it.
I read my papers. I made a recommendation. There was discussion. We voted. And it passed by a majority. That’s the Westminster process, which is common around the world.
In terms of voting, the people nominated were allowed to vote too. So the people who voted for were also Cr Cranston, Cr Gregory, Cr Tibble and Cr Pahuru-Huriwai. So nine, including the mayor, voted for.
The other four didn’t actually vote against the motion, they just didn’t vote for the motion. It’s understandable that anyone would interpret “not voting” to mean “voting against” but councillors know they need to voice opposition and ask for it to be recorded. If you rewatch the video, no one makes any active vote against. Again, council Westminster democratic process.
Finally, I think I was the least conflicted person with regard to this motion as I wasn’t putting myself up for membership to the board. As our only senior councillor who wasn’t interested in being on the LLB, it was my duty to lead. My voter base would expect me to, especially with the number of terms I have behind me and the seniority I possess.
Your letter does bring up a great point that I’ve held for a long time that wānanga (discussion) and other tikanga (processes) that sit outside of the Westminster system have value in terms of democracy - something I think we also need to be working towards.
Thanks for the letter. Look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
