Former councillor Murray Guy has been removed from a tense and packed Tauranga City Council meeting today. Video / Alex Cairns
A “disorderly” former city councillor was removed from a tense and packed Tauranga City Council meeting today, as a controversial $220.2 million stadium proposal moved to the next step.
Security personnel manned the entry to the council meeting at Regional House, where council commissioners would discuss building the Tauranga CommunityStadium at the Tauranga Domain.
The commissioners ultimately voted for a staged delivery approach for the stadium to be included in the council’s draft 2024-34 Long-Term Plan, which would go out for public consultation.
Guy repeatedly interrupted Tolley, calling for the reason the public forum had been cancelled.
Tolley, a former MP, ignored Guy. “Listen to the man!” another person in the gallery called out.
Tolley explained the public forum was cancelled because the stadium proposal was to become part of the Long-term Plan, which had its own public consultation process.
Guy, buoyed by many in the crowd, said Tolley was being “non-compliant”.
Tolley asked him to sit down or he would have to be removed as his behaviour was disrupting the meeting.
Guy, who was last elected to the council in 2010, continued to stand and speak, holding up papers.
“The council policy does not give you the right to deny me to speak in a public forum. It is not a mistake, madam,” he said.
Tolley replied that it did. “It is at my discretion and I made the decision that there would be no public forum today.”
Tolley told Guy to “withdraw immediately from the meeting” as his conduct was “disorderly” and “creating a disturbance”. She said the meeting would be adjourned while he was removed.
“Go for it,” he replied.
Former councillor Murray Guy interrupted a Tauranga City Council meeting the public forum was cancelled. Photo / Alex Cairns
As the council’s four commissioners, appointed by the Government to replace the elected council, walked out, a woman called out “gutless” and Guy said, “unbelievable”.
Someone called out, “non-elected” and another said “correct”.
When council chief executive Marty Grenfell approached Guy to tell him he needed to leave, others called out “leave him there”, “bully” and “stand your ground, bro”.
Grenfell told Guy if he didn’t leave, “I’ll have you removed”. Security was waiting by the door.
“By all means, have me removed,” Guy said.
He continued talking about council process and his time in council before eventually leaving, saying “It’s an absolute disgrace”.
Some applauded as Murray Guy interrupted the meeting. Photo/ Alex Cairns
As Guy left, he was thanked by some in the crowd and a woman carrying a booklet titled To All New Zealanders, Are we being conned by the Treaty Industry? grabbed at Grenfell’s arm, saying, “Oh... stupid, you silly man”.
Grenfell told the woman not to touch him again or she would also be removed.
Most of the crowd remained as the meeting resumed. As Western Bay of Plenty economic development agency Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt reported to the commission that recent survey results showed more people in favour of the stadium than those opposed, some jeered, calling out “rubbish” and “bull****”.
Tolley asked the crowd to use their manners.
Tutt said the subject was “polarising” but the surveys “very clearly outlined a lack of investment in community amenities leads to poor attraction and retention of talent”.
“That is something we should be very concerned about in this community, particularly with an aging demographic, we need to make sure we have a workforce for the future and these types of things help that.”
Commissioners were choosing between a staged implementation plan for the stadium, a single-stage construction, or a single-stage construction with a deferred date, with the preferred option to be included in the draft Long-term Plan. Taking no further action at this stage was also an option.
An artist's impression of what a proposed stadium at the Tauranga Domain could look like.
Commissioner Stephen Selwood said surveys “clearly shows a divided view” of “marginal support versus opposition”.
“We do need to consult with the community on this,” Selwood said, to applause from the gallery.
He said while he appreciated people’s concerns, “I do not support those that might come to this meeting to stop the consultation process because they are having strong views, for or against”.
Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston said there had been a lot of misinformation about the proposal and he wanted to assure people the space would remain open for everyone.
“I want to make it clear to this city there that this is not going to change. Public will have access to these areas. This is a community green space that’s valued by the community,” Rolleston said.
Commissioner Bill Wasley referenced Tauranga’s population growth of 4000 people a year, and the need to cater to all of the community.
Tolley said: “Financially, we can’t afford this at the moment. We simply can’t.”
There was more applause.
“So it does make sense to add it into the next few years,” Tolley said, adding that Tauranga had not received the investment in strategy and growth it should have over the past two decades.
“We have to make hard decisions about what is best for this city.”
Tolley said many younger families were moving to Tauranga and there was a “clear divide” between frugal, older residents, and younger people.
“The domain, it’s special. There’s no doubt we do have to respect that but it needs use by more people. The community stadium that has been proposed is a way of addressing that.”
A staged approach, voted for by the commissioners, would see construction start in 2029/30, giving existing domain users time to relocate as the council focused on its civic precinct project, Te Manawataki o Te Papa.
Later in the meeting, most of the crowd began leaving noisily, and Tolley asked them to continue their conversation outside as the meeting was still going. One man stretched out his arm in a Nazi salute as he exited.
Stadium staged approach
First stage of construction beginning 2029/30
Estimated cost of first stage: $70m
Funding split $40m in rates-funded loans, $30m from other sources
Estimated cost to develop staging plan: $900,000
Operating costs of $1m a year, plus debt servicing and depreciation allocations.
Source: Tauranga City Council
Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.
