Hilary Calvert: Otago Regional Council Chair on the Government's proposal to scrap regional councils

A lot of roles could be facing the axe as the Government looks to scrap regional councils. 

The Government's proposing replacing them with boards made up of Mayors in a particular region. 

The proposal aims to reduce duplication and put downward pressure on rates. 

Boards would be required to put plans in place around re-organising services and infrastructure, which will be checked over and ticked off for financial sustainability. 

Otago Regional Council Chair Hilary Calvert told Ryan Bridge says they employ a lot of staff.  

She says they have around 368 roles, which is twice as many as there were six years ago. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So government wants to cull all eleven regional councils across
the country. Instead, their consenting powers will be given to
the city and district mayors, who will form another form
of council to make region wide decisions. Hillary Calvert's Otaga
Regional Council chare with me this morning, haud be out
of a job if these went through Hillary, Good morning,
Good morning thoughts.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yes, it's sort of been a while coming regional councils,
and that the feeling that there's perhaps one too many
layers of decisions and activity and local government in New Zealand,
I think and.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
You agree with that, you'd be happy to be out
of a job.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yes, I am probably one of the one of the
turkeys who would organize Christmas. Not not because I would
like to be out of a job, because I've just
got into it and having been chosen as year by
my fellow counselors. It is a bit sad the thought

(01:05):
that I can't continue to do that, but for the
sake of the Otago Region people and the ratepayers. I
can see where the government's coming from.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
How many staff work at the Otago Regional Council.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Are I think three hundred and sixty eight to something. Wow,
so there's twice as many as there was six years.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Ago and are doing yeah, well, a lot of planning
and that's probably an area that the government is particularly
focused on because of what the awkwardness about planning is
that the government makes rules like here's what water should

(01:56):
be like, and you should go and make a plan
about how are you going to do that? And then
we go and make a plan about the water and
that it's done every five years or whatever it's done,
and in it the people below us, the territorial authorities,
then they make plans to carry out what we tell

(02:16):
them to do. And that also is a plan that
might be five yearly and it might have been two
years after the plan that we've made and so and
there's another one below that. So the government it's all
out of step and it doesn't produce good, good results

(02:37):
really because it hasn't got a clear pathway because.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Everyone's just sitting around writing plans out of date ones
at that. Hillary, appreciate your time this morning, Hillary Calbot
Otago Regional Council Chair. For more from early edition with
Ryan Bridge, listen live to news Talks It be from
five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.