Local lawyer Garth Mathieson has been investigating.
Newly released letters reveal the controversial decision to reappoint commissioners to govern Tauranga City for longer than originally planned sparked a flurry of desperate pleas for them to stay on – and an equal number calling for them to go.
The commission was expected to stay until the October 2022 local body elections. However, in March of that year, Mahuta said she intended to extend the commission’s reign until July 2024.
Mahuta said, at the time, this was to provide stability and deliver several complex projects.
Up until April 21, 2022 - when the commission’s new term was formally gazetted - Mahuta received 36 letters expressing concern, disgust, support and applause at the prospect of keeping the commissioners on and delaying the elections.
Of these, 15 letters from individuals and three from organisations opposed the decision, with spending and the lack of an election key concerns.
Another 15 individuals and three organisations wrote in support of the move, expressing concerns the commissioners’ work would be undone if an election was held.
Today, it can be revealed the Tauranga Ratepayers’ Alliance and Mount Maunganui Residents, Ratepayers and Retailers’ Association - with which some former city councillors are associated- wrote in opposition to this.
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announcing her intention to extend the term of Tauranga's commission, flanked by Labour MPs Angie Warren-Clark and Jan Tinetti in March 2022. Photo / Andrew Warner
The third group against the move was not named.
Department of Internal Affairs director of ministerial, monitoring and capability Jeremy Cauchi said the letter from this organisation was withheld “as there is reason to believe that the information being released will endanger the safety of one of the individuals within that organisation”. However, a summary of this correspondence was provided.
The organisation argued against delaying local body elections.
“It certainly doesn’t feel [in our view] like a process that has rebuilt trust and confidence in the council,” the summary said.
“We do not support the postponement of democratic elections and urge you to allow the community of Tauranga City to be involved in the decision-making process for the future of our community, via accountable, elected representative.”
Mathieson previously said, in his view, these individuals contributed to the “cancelled” local body elections and should have their identities revealed. He was not seeking the identities of anyone else.
Mathieson said he was appealing the department’s decision to withhold individual names.
Comments supporting Tauranga City Council commissioners staying included:
“Can you please save us from a new council? Most people aren’t noisy, we just hate the arguing and loss of good people by stirrers.”
“… There is considerable risk that many of the decisions the commissioners have made to date could be reversed by a new council.”
“I personally would not want to see elections reinstated next year - I think it’s too soon as I can’t see that there is anything in place to ... prevent the extremely poor governance that has been to the detriment of Tauranga.”
“We have seen a large improvement … this has given us the confidence recently to hire additional staff ... it feels like the city is heading in a direction of improvement that is long overdue.”
“I believe that a return to elected local government representatives would be a retrograde step at this point in time.”
“We are very long-time residents of Tauranga, extremely distressed at the [in our view] disastrous performance of our previously elected Tauranga City Council … Should elections be held soon we think … [there could be] the same very unfortunate results.”
Comments opposing Tauranga City Council commissioners staying included:
“I accept that the previous [council] were not doing a good job, but that didn’t give the Government the right to remove them.”
“[In my opinion] they can ride roughshod over people’s worries because they don’t have to worry about being voted out.”
“[It’s] a denial of democracy.”
“The ... call to retain governance in our city is a democratic outrage. We can do little other than observe Wellington appointed commissioners make sweeping decisions on council rates and spending with no accountability to local ratepayers.”
“Please reverse your decision and show your respect to the people of Tauranga.”
“Democracy needs to be restored … the commissioners must go and elections for a free and democratic Tauranga are needed this year, not when someone deems them necessary.”
“I feel that the lesson has been learnt and that we will not make the mistakes of the past and collectively run Tauranga as a conclusive group.”
“[The commissioners] are temporary transitional agents who need to be vacated at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
