Former Tauranga mayor asks Local Government Minister Simeon Brown to change council commission’s terms

Former Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless, pictured in 2019. Photo / Andrew Warner

A former Tauranga mayor has called on Local Government Minister Simeon Brown to limit the city’s commission powers ahead of the city council election this year.

Greg Brownless wrote to Brown and MPs Sam Uffindell (Tauranga) and Tom Rutherford (Bay of Plenty) to request the commission’s terms of reference be amended.

Brown, however, says the commission has the same decision-making powers and community consultation obligations as an elected council.

Brownless, who was mayor from 2016 to 2019, said, in his view, the commission could entrench decisions and contracts “for which they have no community mandate and which will unfairly bind a new council” expected to be elected in July.

Brownless, who said he was undecided about whether he would stand in that election, said: “The issue isn’t whether the commissioners have done a bad or good job, it’s that democracy is a principle that should not be withheld or frustrated.”

The commission – chairwoman Anne Tolley, Shadrach Rolleston, Stephen Selwood, and Bill Wasley - was appointed to govern Tauranga City Council in February 2021 after former local government minister Nanaia Mahuta discharged the elected council of its duties in December 2020.

It followed a tumultuous year of conflict among elected members.

The commission was expected to stay until the October 2022 local body elections. In April of that year, Mahuta extended it’s term until July 2024 to provide stability and deliver complex projects. This prevented Tauranga’s 2022 local body elections.

Brownless said in his opinion it was unacceptable that the commission, acting under the instructions of the former minister, continued to make important decisions that he believed should be made by elected community representatives.

“New minister, Simeon Brown, has the power to instruct the commission to act in a caretaker role only, to leave the [under-development] Long-term Plan to decision-makers appointed by the community and to not enter into binding contracts and other forms of entrenchment.”

Brownless listed proposals, made by the commission, that, in his opinion, had no community mandate. These included further stages of the Cameron Rd project despite issues with its first stage, “huge increases” in user fees and rents for sporting and community groups, increased debt, and plans to close Ōtūmoetai Pool.

Tauranga City commissioners: Shadrach Rolleston (left), Bill Wasley, Stephen Selwood, Anne Tolley. Photos / NZME

In response to Brownless’ concerns, Tolley said the commission’s terms of reference specifically tasked it with making good decisions on behalf of the community, and with the development and adoption of the council’s 2024-34 Long-term Plan (LTP).

“In essence, we’ve been asked to redress the failings of past councils, with a focus on addressing a longstanding under-investment in infrastructure and community facilities,” Tolley said.

“That’s exactly what we are doing, and all of the key decisions we have and will make have involved full community consultation via LTP and LTP amendment processes. We are working closely with the new Government and none of our communications to date provide any indication that we should not continue to fulfil the requirements of our existing terms of reference.”

Tolley said the commission was required to facilitate a return to effective democratic governance in the lead-up to the July elections.

It would be “working hard to ensure that good candidates come forward who will be able to deliver sensible and decisive governance”, she said.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown (centre), pictured with Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford (left), and Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell (right) at a pre-election public meeting in Tauranga in May 2023. Photo / Alex Cairns

Brown said that, as minister, he wanted to see “local democracy restored for the people of Tauranga”.

Brown said the commission’s terms of reference provided it with the same decision-making powers “and consultation obligations” as an elected council.

“I expect to see the wider community consulted on any significant decisions, just as would happen under an elected council.”

“No council has the ability to bind the next council to any particular direction or actions.”

The commission, like elected councils, was required to deliver a 2024/34 Long-term Plan.

This meant the council was expected to make progress on infrastructure issues and this would require long-term contractual arrangements, Brown said.

Kiri Gillespie is an assistant news director and a senior journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, specialising in local politics and city issues. She was a finalist for the Voyager Media Awards Regional Journalist of the Year in 2021.