By WAYNE THOMPSON
The seven surviving members of the Rodney District Council have decided to appoint five new councillors instead of holding a byelection.
They have called on residents to put their names forward for the five wards.
The decision, made at a council meeting yesterday, was called a farce by one of the group who resigned on March 21.
David Steele, who represented the Waimauku ward, said councillors had already asked the people they wanted to stand.
Penny Webster, the Act list MP for Rodney, said the move was a democratic outrage and that Local Government Minister Sandra Lee should stop "this abuse of due process."
Owen Jennings, Act's local government spokesman, said the remaining seven had blown their credibility by taking the appointment option.
He said the minister should change the law so the council could be replaced by a commission for no more than four months until elections were held for all 12 seats.
An inquiry team has recommended to Ms Lee that all Rodney councillors be sacked and replaced with a commission until the next elections in October 2001.
This followed a ministerial review authority hearing into grievances between ratepayers, councillors and council staff.
Councillor Ross Meurant, whose idea it was to advertise for nominations, told yesterday's meeting this would be fairer than just councillors recommending someone they thought would make a good councillor.
Acting mayor Arnold Gosling said he hoped the appointments would give a good balance of people.
He did not want the move to pre-empt any decision the minister might make on the recommendation of her inquiry team.
"We are in the hands of the minister - anything we do now could be overturned," he said.
The council's general manager, Brian Sharplin, said councillors did not have to determine who they would appoint until after they knew whether the public approved of appointments over an election.
A byelection for councillors must be held if 5 per cent of electors say they want it.
Mr Sharplin said candidates who came second in the October 1998 elections had no prior claim to being appointed.
The council's returning officer, Bill Smith, said appointments could be made from anyone on the electoral roll anywhere in New Zealand, or anyone who was a New Zealand citizen.
When Doug Armstrong resigned as mayor alongside five councillors, a byelection for the mayoralty became automatic.
The council yesterday chose a postal ballot for the mayoralty that could cost up to $80,000.
Mr Smith said June 24 was a possible date for deciding the byelection.
Depleted council rejects byelection to fill seats
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