GDC cites benefits of LGNZ connection

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne District Council is not following Auckland Council in withdrawing from Local Government NZ.

Controversial Auckland mayor Wayne Brown has withdrawn Auckland from LGNZ, but no such concerns are held by Gisborne District Council.

Gisborne’s membership of LGNZ is not a issue, said council’s director of internal partnerships James Baty.

LGNZ supports and advocates for 77 councils across New Zealand, promotes networking and aims to ensure the needs of communities are heard at the highest levels of central government.

Mr Baty said there were benefits from LGNZ membership.

Council participated actively (Mayor and chief executive) in Zone 3 meetings, the Regional Sector Group, the Rural and Provincial Group (Councillor Rob Telfer on behalf of the Mayor) and the Mayor was also on the LGNZ national council.

An elected member has been elected to Te Maruata, one of the national council committees, but not during the current triennium.

“The advocacy LGNZ do on behalf of councils is key for policy development both in terms of national direction and also feeding back on what we want from Government,” Mr Baty said.

“They also do some think pieces that can be useful in policy development.

“Elected members also attended LGNZ induction courses which provided networking opportunities across the North Island.”

Mr Brown said withdrawal from LGNZ would save Auckland City Council $640,000 in annual costs.

But he also said he had seen in the Bay of Islands “800 members of local boards completely and utterly pissed and dancing all night long for no benefit whatsoever to the ratepayers has made me question the value of it”.

LGNZ officials and several Auckland councillors have rejected Mr Brown’s allegations and stated no LGNZ annual conference had ever been held in the Bay of Islands.

Mr Brown is no stranger to Gisborne.

He was appointed as the one-man Commissioner of the then Tairawhiti Healthcare Ltd when the board was sacked by the Health Minister in June 2000.

Mr Brown later stood for and was elected chairman of Tairāwhiti District Health.