Rotorua councillors debate golf club lease negotiations in heated meeting

Rotorua Lakes Councillor Robert Lee. Photo / Laura Smith

“This is a circus.”

That was one frustrated comment during a heated three-hour council debate about a golf club lease, in which the mayor asked a councillor to “please contain yourself” and the chief executive denied exceeding his powers.

Springfield Golf Club has asked its landlord, Rotorua Lakes Council, to work on a new lease as the current one is set to expire in 2027 with no right of renewal.

Councillors last month voted to wait until Wednesday’s council meeting to decide what it would offer the club.

In the latest meeting, however, they again postponed providing negotiation parameters as they directed chief executive Andrew Moraes to look into another option and report back as soon as possible.

The meeting followed years of debates about the future of the golf club land. The council previously considered using the land for sports grounds as part of a proposed Westbrook Sports and Recreation Precinct or for housing, sparking community backlash.

The council shelved the proposal last year as it worked on a new programme for sports fields and facilities that did not include changes to the course.

Initially in Wednesday’s meeting, councillors were asked to consider if Moraes should begin negotiations offering a 33-year lease with an initial term of three to 10 years before an alternative-use clause was activated, enabling early termination of the lease. .

This option failed to gain support.

Instead, the council supported councillor Don Paterson’s suggestion Moraes investigate and report back on an option to start a new lease in 2027 with an initial 10-year term and two rights of renewal. An alternative-use clause would kick in after 10 years and, if not invoked, would move to the next 10.

The clause meant future councils could consult the public on whether the land should be used for something else, before making a decision based on the needs of that time.

What the alternative use might be was not defined, but an example Mayor Tania Tapsell gave was stormwater detention ponds on the public reserve as a solution to the flood-prone Utuhina Stream. She noted this may not disrupt the course.

It was also a point of contention among councillors, with Paterson saying it was too “airy fairy” and wanted options for what it could be, while councillor Fisher Wang felt it offered flexibility for both the council and the golf club.

Conversation during the meeting strayed, however, with councillor Rawiri Waru frustrated it became “more complicated than it has to be”.

Claims of disrespect and ‘a circus’

For the three hours councillors debated whether Moraes should negotiate with the club with specific parameters, arguments and accusations flew across chambers.

“This is a circus”, Waru said as points of order about misrepresentation and relevance interjected one another. He later said the situation was “crazy” given all they were approving was a negotiation, not a final lease.

Tapsell called for order as councillor Robert Lee tried to raise a point of order, and she, Lee and Waru spoke over the top of each other.

“Councillor Lee, can you please contain yourself,” Tapsell said.

It was the second time she called for order at the meeting, earlier telling councillor Trevor Maxwell to compose himself.

After Moraes explained he, corporate services group manager Thomas Colle and Tapsell met with the club at their request – with the mayor leaving during a discussion of terms and conditions – Lee questioned if the chief executive had gone beyond what councillors authorised him to do, having voted to hold off on the negotiation vote.

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell at a July meeting. Photo / Laura Smith

Tapsell said the question was disrespectful. Moraes said he was working to a directive to negotiate a lease, as given to his predecessor Geoff Williams. It was the lease conditions councillors were debating offering.

“Have I exceeded my power? The answer is no.”

Lee’s use of the phrase “guillotine clause” referring to the alternative-use clause was also contested, with councillor Fisher Wang calling it inappropriate and Tapsell saying it was disrespectful.

Lee said it was a matter of freedom of speech.

“If other people have sensitivities then poor old them.”

Tapsell said councillors need to conduct themselves in an orderly manner.

Another heated moment came as Wang called for councillors to not “meddle in this process”.

“How dare you,” Paterson responded. Fisher replied he had not mentioned any names.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist for four years.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.