Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Anonymous plea for commissioner to replace Far North District Council

Northern Advocate
8 Feb, 2018 07:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The appeal for support that was handed out at Shane Jones' annual Waitangi party at his home in Kerikeri.

The appeal for support that was handed out at Shane Jones' annual Waitangi party at his home in Kerikeri.

An anonymous appeal for support to replace the Far North District Council with a commissioner was made to politicians at NZ First MP Shane Jones' annual Waitangi party at his home in Kerikeri.

The leaflet, which was unsigned, and given to most if not all of Mr Jones' parliamentary colleagues who were there on Sunday, called for the appointment of a commissioner on the grounds that the council was slow in issuing commercial building permits, and was suing "dozens" of ratepayers who would negotiate a settlement if they had the chance to.

Mr Jones said he had been unable to meet with Mayor John Carter prior to Waitangi Day, but he wanted to talk with him and deputy Mayor Tania McInnes before speaking with Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta. A meeting is scheduled in Kerikeri this week.

"As you know I am championing the regions, and any problems that might impact on that need to be addressed ASAP, but pulling the commissioner trigger would be a very big step," Mr Jones said.

He would also speak to his party leader and former Northland MP Winston Peters, and if necessary would approach the Local Government Commission to see if there was some way of improving the "spirit" of the council and stakeholders.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"But first I need to talk to John [Carter]," he added.

Meanwhile Mr Carter said in the 2016/17 year the council had processed 89 per cent of building consent applications within the statutory timeframes, despite dealing with record numbers of applications and skill shortages as a result of the building boom.

International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) had commented positively on the council's consent processes when the accreditation body conducted a routine audit last year.
"That doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We are addressing issues raised by IANZ, and we try hard to remedy reasonable customer complaints when they arise. But neither the council nor IANZ believes it is up to ratepayers to pay for staff to correct and complete applications on behalf of developers, especially when they choose not to take advantage of pre-application meetings with staff, which speed up the processing of applications."

Nor was it correct to say the council was not willing to settle disputes outside court, he said.

"Legal action is always a last resort, and we often reach agreement by mediation or by negotiating directly with people," Mr Carter said.

"We also have a duty to act in the interests of ratepayers when this approach fails."

The council is taking legal action against four people over unpaid debts and alleged breaches of contract, he said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling
Northern Advocate

The Good Drop: Warehouse, Salvation Army team up for textile recycling

Donors receive a 10% voucher for clothing purchases over $30 as an incentive.

14 Jul 04:00 AM
Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash
Northern Advocate

Police name person who died in early morning Kaitāia crash

14 Jul 02:07 AM
 Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently
Northern Advocate

Kaipara mayoral hopefuls on rates, museums and what they would do differently

14 Jul 12:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP