Council's secret briefings to continue

Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby. Photo/file

Secret briefings will continue to be held by the Tauranga City Council, the council decided today.

The decision was made at an informal lunchtime get-together following the disclosure that 86 public-excluded briefings had been held since the election 18 months ago.

Mayor Stuart Crosby, in a statement released after the meeting, said recent criticism of the use of briefings and workshops was misleading.

Mr Crosby said all elected members took their obligations under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act seriously, and no council decisions had been made in briefings and workshops.

The practice of holding briefings and workshops was standard among most Councils.

They ensured that elected members were fully conversant with an issue, raising both the level of debate and the quality of decision-making at meetings, he said.

There had been 110 Council meetings since the election in 2013, all publicly notified with decisions were made in an open and transparent manner, Mr Crosby said.

Eight councillors supported the use of briefings and workshops and the practice would continue without change, he said.