Heather du Plessis-Allan: Councils forced the Govt to bring out the big stick

Even people who think councils do a fantastic job must by now understand why the Government is going to have to pass law to get councils to focus on doing their jobs. 

It has been clear to councils for about four months now that the Government wanted them to drop the distractions and just do their work. 

Yet, councils just can’t help themselves. 

Even last week Tauranga City Council voted to install unelected Māori representatives on the council, who will not improve ratepayers lives at all but will cost them money. 

Hastings Council did the same thing three months ago with the youth councillors. No extra benefit for ratepayers, but extra cost. 

Wellington City Council is today going to debate whether they should submit their feels to the Government on the Treaty Principles Bill. 

That's not their job. 

A bunch of other councils have done that too. 

These guys up and down the country show no sign that they understand they are supposed to be cutting out unnecessary spending and focusing their minds on doing their actual jobs. 

So it’s come to this – the Government announcing yesterday it will pass legalisation to force them to do their jobs. 

The four wellbeing pillars that task councils with looking after economic wellbeing, social wellbeing, cultural wellbeing, and environmental wellbeing will be scrapped. 

That was a bad idea from the last Labour Government anyway, which was so broad and meaningless it gave councils an excuse to expand their meddling into pretty much anything, because everything is a wellbeing. 

Councils will be forced to report clearly and simply, and publicly, on what they’re spending money on and what they’re charging ratepayers. 

Hopefully getting out the big stick will mean the excuses are cut, distractions are dropped, and these guys focus their minds on doing more work for less cost to ratepayers. 

Because hoping they get the message and do it voluntarily hasn’t worked. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Look, even people who think that councils do a fantastic
job generally must I now understand why the government is
going to have to pass laws to get them to
actually focus on doing their jobs. I mean, it has
been clear now for I would say at least four months,
if not longer, to councils that the government wants them
to drop the distractions and just get on with their work.
And yet councils just apparently can't help themselves, can they.

(00:20):
I mean last week, as recently as last week we
had totaling a city council voting to install unelected Mary
representatives on the council. That's not going to improve ratepayers'
lives one jot, but it's just going to cost them
more money, isn't it. Hasting's District Council did the same
thing three months ago with the youth councilors. Again, no
extra benefit to a rate payer, just extra cost to
a rate payer. Wellington City Council is today going to

(00:42):
debate whether they should submit their feels to the Government
on the Treaty Principal's Bill, which has nothing to do
with them, not their job at all. A bunch of
other councils have done this as well. This stuff is
still going on despite months now of the government saying
can you please just get back to doing your job
up and down the country, these guys show no sign
that they understand thus supposed to be cutting unnecessary spending

(01:04):
and focusing their minds on actually just running the council.
So it's come to this, right, So the government announced
yesterday it's going to pass legislation to force them to
do their jobs. And it's two parts to this. The
first is that the full wellbeing pillars that task counsels
with looking after economic wellbeing and social wellbeing and cultural
wellbeing and environmental well being, they're all going to be scrapped.
That was a bad idea from the last Labor government anyway.

(01:26):
It was so broad that it was meaningless, and so
therefore it gave counsels an excuse to basically expand their
meddling into pretty much anything, because pretty much anything is
a well being. And then the second thing is counsels
will be forced to report clearly and simply and publicly
what they're spending their money on and what they're charging
their rate payers, and hopefully as a result of this,

(01:47):
getting out the big stick. Hopefully it will mean that
the excuses are cut, the distractions are dropped, and these
guys focus their minds on doing more work for less
cost to rate payers as well, because hoping they get
the message and do it voluntarily clearly hasn't worked. For
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