Local Government Minister Simeon Brown visits Whanganui with strong message for councils

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown (left) with Whanganui MP Carl Bates at the Whanganui Airport. Photo / Mike Tweed

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown called for greater efficiency within local councils during a visit to Whanganui.

He said the Government was “getting back to basics” and councils should do the same.

“Finding savings isn’t a one-off exercise, it’s a discipline in terms of respecting every single dollar of taxpayer or ratepayer money,” he told the Chronicle during last week’s visit.

Speaking at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference last month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said council balance sheets around New Zealand were being plagued with “a laundry list of distractions and experiments” and Cabinet would investigate options to limit council spending on “nice-to-haves”.

When asked, Brown did not name any Whanganui-specific nice-to-haves but said there were examples across the country.

“Ultimately, we want councils to focus on picking up the rubbish, fixing the potholes and delivering high-quality water services,” he said.

“That’s why we are removing the four wellbeings [social, economic, environmental, and cultural] from the Local Government Act and that’s why we are going to be benchmarking local councils.”

During his LGNZ speech, Luxon said Cabinet had agreed to investigate performance benchmarks for local councils, with measures in areas such as financial performance and customer service delivery.

Brown, who also holds the Government’s transport and energy portfolios, met with Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe during his visit.

Tripe said he told Brown the Whanganui District Council had gone through its budgets “line-by-line several times”.

“He had a perception that we are developing a hotel but I made it clear we are not,” Tripe said.

“We have been prudent and responsible and 83% of our capital spend is on infrastructure over the next 10 years.”

In its draft 10-year (long-term) plan, the council proposed investing $55 million in the development of a hotel and carpark but that was canned following public consultation.

However, the council has included $200,000 in its 2024/25 budget for a feasibility study to attract potential developers.

Last week, Whanganui District councillors voted 11-2 in favour of retaining the district’s Māori ward, with the same majority casting a protest vote rejecting a motion to note that the decision would trigger a binding poll.

Brown said it was up to the public to decide on “a substantial constitutional issue”.

“We’ve got nothing to be afraid of allowing the public to have its say,” he said.

“If the public support those wards continuing, great. If the public vote no, that’s their decision.”

To minimise costs to councils, the Government had made sure the referendums would take place alongside the next elections, he said.

Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay has said the poll would cost Whanganui ratepayers $45,000.

Speaking to the Chronicle last month, Tripe said he anticipated “the first cabs off the rank” for regional deals - long-term agreements between local government and central government - would be high-growth areas such as Queenstown, Bay of Plenty and the wider Hamilton area.

“If we want to be second cab off the rank, we need to demonstrate that we are having, and can have, a collaborative approach,” he said.

When asked if Whanganui could be in one of the next regions considered for a deal, Brown said the Government was still working through details.

“We have said very clearly the focus of a city and regional deal will be around economic growth opportunities, unlocking housing and building infrastructure.

“We are working through a process to determine what the first five regions will be - that we’ll invite proposals from - but Cabinet hasn’t made any decisions on that at this stage.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.