Kaipara mayor Craig Jepson. Photo / Susan Botting
Kaipara District Council’s “black sheep” of New Zealand mayors says his council has done the right thing pulling out of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).
But a local government specialist says the council’s move to withdraw is not in the right direction.
Kaipara District Council (KDC) on Wednesday voted to withdraw from LGNZ, forgoing the organisation’s $48,000 2023/2024 membership of New Zealand’s local government representation group for the country’s 78 councils.
Mayor Craig Jepson said LGNZ tended towards representing government views to councils rather than councils’ views to government as was its purpose.
This had been particularly the case with Three Waters. His council would now be free to take action on further developing the economy of his area without the distraction of LGNZ.
The decision would run for the rest of the current council term, he said.
Jepson said he was the black sheep of New Zealand mayors and chairs because he thought differently from most of them and was prepared to act on those different views.
The withdrawal, supported by councillors, was a manifestation of that.
”I haven’t come up through the bureaucracy of local government, I’ve come from gumboots to mayor, I’m the original working man’s, businessman’s mayor,” Jepson said.
”Sometimes you don’t make change without changing the actions you take.”
The KDC withdrawal comes two months after Auckland Council withdrew from LGNZ.
Jepson said KDC’s withdrawal had nothing to do with that.
KDC’s decision comes despite Jepson having made two training and networking trips to LGNZ events in Wellington since October, to what he described as mayors’ school for those who were newly elected and a second event for rural provincial councils. Deputy mayor Larsen has also been to Wellington twice for LGNZ events.
Jepson led the KDC push to withdraw from LGNZ, supported by Cr Ash Nayaar, deputy mayor Jonathan Larsen and Crs Gordon Lambeth, Ron Manderson, and Rachael Williams at KDC’s May council meeting in Dargaville on Wednesday.
Crs Pera Paniora and Eryn Wilson-Collins voted against withdrawing while Crs Mike Howard and Mark Vincent were absent from the meeting.
Local government specialists and former Massey University academic Dr Andy Asquith said KDC’s withdrawal was concerning.
KDC had emerged from six years under Government-appointed commissioners only half a decade ago, the now adjunct research fellow at Perth’s Curtin University in Australia said.
That meant it was still an immature council, its governance having had little time to evolve since the commissioners’ 2012-2018 tenure ended.
On top of that, KDC’s only second new council since those commissioners, elected in October 2023, had 70 per cent newcomers including a mayor who had not been in local government before.
LGNZ offered the best governance training options from among what was available in New Zealand.
”The quality of council governance is critical for the effective running of a council. KDC’s withdrawal is shortsighted. The $48,000 is peanuts in terms of the council budget.”
LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said KDC’s decision to leave the representative group was disappointing.
LGNZ would be working with KDC to encourage it to rejoin next year.
”Local government is stronger together. LGNZ’s role in supporting councils is vast and broad. Our experienced policy team engages across the full spectrum of government policy and is a critical resource, especially for smaller councils,” Freeman-Greene said.
“Our ability to speak with one voice strengthens the sector’s reputation and builds influence with Central Government. LGNZ also plays a key role in championing local democracy and encouraging diversity and cultural competency throughout local government.”
Freeman-Greene said local government needed to leverage off its collective strength as it continued to face the headwinds of change.
Local Democracy Reporting Northland sought comment on KDC’s withdrawal from LGNZ’s representative for Northland and Far North mayor Moko Tepania but this was not provided by edition time due to him being in an Annual Plan meeting.
Northland Mayoral Forum chairman and Whangārei mayor Vince Cocurullo said LGNZ membership participation had not been part of the forum’s formal agenda discussions. The forum represents the North’s four councils.
He said KDC’s withdrawal would not change the forum’s inter-council relationships, with the group and Auckland Council continuing to work together.
Local Democracy Reporting Northland asked Far North District Council (FNDC) and Whangārei District Council (WDC) as well as Northland Regional Council (NRC) how much each paid for LGNZ membership and whether they were still going to be part of the group.
Cocurullo, speaking as Whangārei mayor, said his council had already paid its $87,947 2023-2024 LGNZ subscription. However, it would no doubt discuss its continued LGNZ membership “at some stage”.
”The subscription helps to fund LGNZ’s coordination advocacy and role on behalf of the sector, offers useful training and professional development and enables us to network with others facing similar challenges.
“It has links into expertise that can benefit the sector and promotes diversity and inclusion, " Cocurullo said.
NRC chairwoman Tui Shortland did not respond with these figures or her council’s position on LGNZ membership before edition time.
■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air