A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
If the puzzle about community boards is what powers and functions they will have, the answer might be in the structure of regional councils elsewhere, and their distinction from district councils.
According to environmentguide.org, “Regional councils are generally responsible for environmental and public transport matters. Regional councils are subject to
the Local Government Act 2002 and have a key role under the Resource Management Act 1991, which charges them with the integrated management of the natural and physical resources of a region. Regional councils prepare regional policy statements and regional plans to assist the council to carry out its functions under the RMA.”
In this district, having a unitary council has blurred the distinction, and according to some, meant a lack, over many years, of good environmental monitoring. In a new structure, there would be a case for district councils to be based on population, and regional councils (conceivably community boards), because of their environmental functions, to be based on area.
Gavin Maclean
