TODAY we can tell you about events funded by the Masterton District Council, after details were released on Friday.
These funding decisions have been being talked about in council meetings for weeks, but behind closed doors. We've been asking about them since a public-excluded meeting on September 26, and were given various reasons for them being withheld - a move councillors left to the discretion of the chief executive.
On Wednesday the council talked about events funding behind closed doors again, and again their decisions were withheld. Council staff said they needed to notify applicants first, a process that could take a week.
That seemed odd when we learned some of the grants involved were for events (the freediving world-record attempt, the Masterton Host Lions fireworks display) that were already taking place. On Thursday council staff gave another reason for the delay: "When we are spending $105,000 we have a right to release it in a way that makes the most impact."
Actually, no, you don't. Nothing in legislation protects a council's right to make a PR splash. But the law does obligate local bodies to act in a transparent manner.