Council may face legal challenge

Wanganui District Council may face a legal challenge over plans to alter its communication strategy.

Councillors were today expected to vote on a proposal by Mayor Michael Laws that would see the Community Link pages published weekly in the Wanganui Chronicle and Midweek dropped in favour of advertising in the rival community newspaper River City Press. Increased use of the internet and hoardings are also featured in the proposed communications strategy.

As well as advertising with the River City Press, Mr Laws' strategy would also have the council pay for the printing and distribution of the RCP to the Wanganui District rural delivery areas it does not currently reach. At present the paper has a limited reach within the city and some rural areas.

Chronicle general manager Andy Jarden said the paper had a legal opinion that the use of public funds - ratepayers' money - to subsidise a private business operation was likely to be illegal.

"We respect the right of the Wanganui District Council to investigate how and where it spends its money and welcome efforts to reduce the cost to ratepayers but question the use of public funds in this way."

Mr Jarden said if the proposal went ahead as outlined in the agenda for today's meeting, the paper would ask the auditor-general to investigate.

Mr Laws had threatened in the past to withdraw the council's advertising spending from the Chronicle amid claims of negative editorial bias, however, Mr Jarden said the editorial integrity of the paper could not be bought, even if it meant losing the district council's communication contract.