Auckland Council in court battle with its Māori advisory board over new chairman for Watercare

Watercare is responsible for Auckland's water and wastewater with a $13.9 billion programme of work over the next decade.

Auckland Council has been taken to court by its Māori advisory board over appointing a new chairman to its water business.

The Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) is seeking a judicial review in the High Court at Auckland to overturn the appointment of Geoff Hunt as chairman of Watercare.

IMSB chairman David Taipari said the board believed the decision to appoint Hunt was procedurally unlawful.

Taipari said a panel unanimously recommended a Māori candidate for the role, but when it came to the council’s performance and appointments committee for a decision behind closed doors, an amendment by councillor Maurice Williamson for Hunt to get the role was passed.

Independent Maori Statutory Board chairman David Taipari.

“This isn’t about the person. This is about the procedure undertaken by the council to make a decision on this matter.

“It is an unfortunate situation we have had to go through. It would have been much better to have worked it out, but unfortunately the advice provided by the council was everything was okay, and we didn’t accept that,” said Taipari.

Court documents show the IMSB believes the amendment did not comply with the council’s standing orders, making the Hunt motion invalid and the committee’s decision unlawful.

The documents show the council believes the amendment moved by Williamson and carried by 4 votes to 3 complied with standing orders, as did the committee’s decision to adopt the amended motion.

The documents – a statement of claim by the IMSB and a statement of defence by the council – are partly redacted to protect confidential information during the process, and the names and information of the short-listed candidates, including the name of the Māori candidate recommended for the job.

The IMSB statement of claim wants the committee’s decision declared unlawful, and the committee to reconsider the original motion.

The IMSB also believed the decision did not consider relevant Treaty of Waitangi issues, and the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna, and other taonga under the Local Government Act.

The council has denied these claims, saying in its statement of defence the objective was to appoint a new board chair, which did not involve a “significant decision” about land or a body of water.

After a hearing on July 24 before Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith the parties await a decision. The IMSB has hired Davey Salmon, KC, and the council has lawyers from Simpson Grierson on the case.

Hunt was appointed chairman of Watercare by the council’s performance and appointments committee on June 25 and joined the board on July 1.

An engineer with nearly three decades of experience in infrastructure construction, operation and maintenance, Hunt has worked in New Zealand, Britain and the United States.

In a press release announcing his appointment, the council said it wanted candidates with leadership experience in big organisations, the delivery and maintenance of utilities and major infrastructure and the ability to lead organisations through change and debt restructuring.

Geoff Hunt's appointment as chairman of Watercare has led to a judicial review.

He began the role shortly after a deal was struck between Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Auckland Issues Minister Simeon Brown to take Watercare’s debt off the council’s books, allowing it to borrow more money, rather than passing the cost on to ratepayers, to fund a $13.9 billion investment programme.

The IMSB was set up as part of the Super City in 2010 to promote issues of significance to Māori at Auckland Council and ensure it gives effect to the Treaty of Waitangi.

At the time, the National-led Government and Local Government Minister Rodney Hide rejected the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance’s recommendation for three Māori seats on Auckland Council – two elected and one appointed by mana whenua.

The board has nine members, who sit on council committees with voting rights but not on the governing body. Taipairi is a member of the performance and appointments committee and was involved in the appointment process for the new Watercare chair.