Editorial: Whanganui electors can make an informed choice now council votes go on the record

Mark Dawson, editor of Wanganui Chronicle

The electors of Whanganui have been given a fillip with the district council's decision to put all votes on the official record.

What many of us saw as an anomaly came to light when the council meeting of May 2 had to decide whether to allow late submissions to the long-term plan to be heard.

A split decision gave those submissions the go-ahead.

The vote among our 12 councillors and mayor was 6-5 in favour of the late entries being allowed, with two abstentions.

The vote was seen as contentious in some quarters, and a number of people — including the Chronicle — were curious about how each person had voted.

But only those elected members knew — there was no public record to check.

A number of readers expressed concern about this and the Chronicle approached council asking for all votes to be recorded.

We are delighted mayor Hamish McDouall has responded positively to our request, and add that a number of other councillors contacted the Chronicle with their support for such a move.

This will add greater transparency to council proceedings and, most crucially, will mean voters at next year's local government elections can look back at how councillors responded to certain issues, particularly the hot topics.

In short, they will be able to make a more informed choice when ticking those boxes.

Our thanks for the swift action ... the Chronicle will modestly take the win.