Simon Bridges pans plans for greater Māori representation in Tauranga

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges says the appointment of tangata whenua representatives to Tauranga City Council's Strategic, Finance and Risk Committee is "anti-democratic madness". Photo / File

The appointment of four new members including three Māori appointees to a core committee in Tauranga City Council has been labelled "anti-democratic madness" by local MP Simon Bridges.

Bridges' opposition was echoed in a meeting at the council on Tuesday, in which council commissioners discussed and voted on who would make up a newly revised Strategic, Finance and Risk Committee.

Commissioners Shadrach Rolleston, Stephen Selwood, Bill Wasley and chairwoman Anne Tolley voted to appoint an independent member and three tangata whenua representatives in addition to themselves and Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana chairwoman Matire Duncan to the committee.

All members will have voting rights with the exception of the chairperson of Te Rangapū, who has an advisory role.

Citizens Advocacy Tauranga chairman Rob Paterson, pictured earlier this month, presents at Tauranga City Council concerns at plans to form a committee with three Māori representatives. Photo / File

Tolley said the commission, appointed by Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta, discharged all standing committees of the previous council except for the tangata whenua council. Those committees had tangata whenua representatives with voting rights, which the commission had been looking to maintain.

Tolley asked to include a stipulation in the decision that the independent appointee have a strong financial acumen to complement the skill set of the commissioners.

Citizens Advocacy Tauranga Inc chairman Rob Paterson told the council such appointments needed better consultation with the community, as he only found out on Thursday night before the long weekend.

"It appears consultancy with the public is being treated as unimportant," he said.

"Under the proposed arrangement, the residents and ratepayers of Tauranga who are not Māori would have no representation at all on the committee, and yet ratepayers are major stakeholders."

Paterson suggested there be three ratepayers and resident group representatives and just one tangata whenua representative instead.

He also took issue with the matter being considered by council staff as of low significance which he believed was "patently absurd and wrong".

"The proposed governance is a radical departure from accepted governance practices. The public should most certainly be consulted."

Paterson also presented letters to the commissioners from others who shared his concern.

In copies of these letters, Papamoa Residents and Ratepayers Association's Philip Brown said the group disagreed consultation was not needed.

Tauranga City Councill commissioner Stephen Selwood said a new committee will represent a fair proportion of the local community. Photo / File

In the group's view: "The committee as proposed in this ... are not representative of the community and there is no guarantee they will have the skillset and composition [of engineering, science, accounting, financial planning, planning and resilience acumen]."

Local resident Barry Scott said the committee plans were unfair and unconstitutional.

"If it is passed there will be more division, bitterness and dissatisfaction in the community. People will turn their back on the council."

In the meeting, Wasley said previous councils had not carried out consultation for such appointments and confirmed with council staff there were no requirements under the Local Government Act to do so.

Selwood said it was "important to note this is an advisory/recommendatory committee, not a decision-making committee".

He acknowledged the concerns raised and said there were many views on the matter which the commissioners had taken into account.

"Ratepayers' associations are one line, they represent a certain community view. There are many other community views that need to be represented as well. How do we cut and choose the right mix of skills and people? The role of the four commissioners is in fact to represent that community view.

"We have been, us as a group of people, extremely active in reaching out to over 200 community groups and people so far and the views expressed through these meetings are widely representative of the whole community - not just certain groups.

"I would hope that gives some confidence to the community that we are listening, we are hearing what people are saying and being [active] in our decision making by that community input."

Commissioners voted for the proposed committee structure, with provisions for each member to have skills, attributes and knowledge that would help the committee's work.

On Friday, after the meeting's agenda was released, Bridges took to Facebook to express his concern at the plans for the committee which he believed was "anti-democratic madness".

He told the Bay of Plenty Times he was disappointed in the decision which he believed was "deeply undemocratic".

Bridges questioned what representation there was for non-Māori ratepayers when the local Māori population was about 18 per cent. Now there would be three tangata whenua representatives, plus Te Rangapū chairwoman, and commissioner Rolleston who has local Māori roots.

He said the committee helped to control the council's purse strings "so is very powerful".