Final council debates end 'in disarray'

Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo / File

The current Far North District Council has held its last meeting, signing off with the usual mix of informality, acerbic asides, humour and occasional chaos.

The final meeting of the triennium, in Kaikohe on Thursday, began with a session of the audit and finance committee which shaved $1.2 million from the 2013/14 budget, partly by putting off non-essential spending. The council has prided itself on reining in costs and reducing debt, though critics say infrastructure has been run down as a result.

The meeting started with a quarterly report from Far North police area commander Wendy Robilliard, before Mayor Wayne Brown gave a Roberton Island landowner a grilling for wanting the council to waive a requirement for public access to Cook's Cove in exchange for island residents' conservation work.

"You can forget about that, mate," Mr Brown glowered. Cooler heads prevailed and the decision was deferred while negotiations continue.

A presentation by the regional council on plans for future boat moorings in the Bay of Islands was unusually cordial - Mr Brown has often been at loggerheads with regional council chairman Craig Brown - while a young staff member's presentation on a new signs policy descended into a debate about when a mural became a sign and vice-versa.

Community board leaders presented their final minutes and a handful of councillors filed their monthly activity reports.

The most entertaining moment came during a discussion on election signs policy. The policy, which is rarely, if ever, enforced, bans election hoardings from public land.

When one councillor asked if candidates could be disqualified for breaching the policy, Mr Brown - with a glance in Cr Sally Macauley's direction - wondered whether candidates could be disqualified for using billboard photos which were more than six months old. Mrs Macauley stormed to Mr Brown's seat in mock outrage, offering to provide a dated receipt for the photo session.

Mr Brown's last official words of the 2010-13 term were: "Meeting closed in disarray".

Councillors farewelled Tom Baker, who is retiring after 12 years in local politics. The long-time Kerikeri representative said he had been bombarded with requests to join other organisations but was also keen to travel.

The only other councillor not standing for re-election is Tracy Dalton, who now lives in Whangarei.

Results of the postal election will be announced on October 12.