Kaipara councillor Mark Vincent wears a Mickey Mouse T-shirt to meetings

Councillor Mark Vincent wears his Mickey Mouse T-shirt through winter too, including at the council's August Māori ward abolition meeting in Mangawhai where he is photographed outside after the event Photo / Susan Botting

A Kaipara councillor is wearing Mickey Mouse T-shirts at council meetings in reference to what he says is “the worrying state of democracy” in the organisation.

Councillor Mark Vincent, from Whakapirau, says democracy is fading at Kaipara District Council (KDC), which is fast becoming the “black sheep” of councils.

“I am learning to overcome my embarrassment about being a Kaipara District councillor. I’m part of an increasingly Mickey Mouse outfit.”

Vincent claims the community had fewer opportunities to take part in the council’s key decisions.

But Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson did not agree.

People were not being left out of decision making and council followed standing orders for meeting procedures, he said.

Jepson believed Vincent’s comments were no more than those of a councillor who wanted to become the mayor.

However, Vincent said he had no interest in the position.

The second-term councillor started wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt to KDC meetings in May and said he would continue to do so for the remaining council term.

A ‘DIVIDED’ COUNCIL?

He said raised voices had almost become the norm and conflict was poorly managed in a polarised council.

“There are increasingly polarised views around the council table, that polarisation clearly highlighted as a concern in the council’s latest residents’ satisfaction survey,” Vincent said.

“At present, under the mayor’s leadership, we have a divided council.”

Jepson said strong leadership was at times about making decisions, such as canning the karakia at the start and end of council meetings, that were not always popular. This could polarise people.

He said meeting conflict was managed as well as possible, given the circumstances.

Kaipara councillor Mark Vincent at KDC's Māori ward abolition meeting in Mangawhai in early August Photo / NZME

Vincent said councillors had been increasingly forced into making uninformed decisions based on last-minute interceptions by the mayor, he said.

The interceptions were not signalled to all councillors before the meeting and typically significantly changed the direction of discussions away from the agenda.

In response, Jepson said his council moved promptly on issues as they came up and this could mean new information came to hand after the agenda had been put together.

Council decision-making was not simply about councillors rubber stamping agenda items’ staff reports and their recommendations.

“Otherwise we might as well leave the running of the council to staff and all go home,” he said.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson disagrees with councillor Mark Vincent's view

Jepson also pointed to the fact KDC was ahead of the pack with 2024/2025 rate rises.

The council had a rates increase of just under 9% this year, compared with the New Zealand average of 14%.

KDC’S DECISION TO ABOLISH MAORI WARD

On August 7, KDC became the only New Zealand council to can its Māori ward, doing so without polling its people, as allowed under a law change made on August 1.

Jepson said he had been elected with a clear majority, which supported his views and the way his council was being governed as a result.

He said those who wanted to seek to bring in a Māori ward, with polling, were free to do so further down the track.

But Vincent said the council’s decision to abolish its Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori Ward was an example of the council’s fading democracy as residents weren’t polled.

Kaipara councillor Mark Vincent will continue wearing his Mickey Mouse T-shirt to council meetings, to express his thoughts about how he sees the health of KDC's democracy Photo / Susan Botting

Vincent said the people of Kaipara, Māori in particular, were no longer getting the sort of say in KDC democracy that the mayor had said was critical.

KDC also terminated formal relationship agreements with its two iwi in September.

However, Jepson said Vincent had not been at consultation meetings the council held with iwi, ahead of this, so could not comment.

‘BLACK SHEEP COUNCIL’

KDC pulled out the national sector representation group Local Government NZ (LGNZ) in May 2023, seven months after Jepson was elected — one of six councils, out of 78, to have now done so.

“We’re fast becoming the black sheep council,” Vincent said.

Jepson said his council had pulled out of LGNZ because it was a leftover from the left-wing woke world of the previous Government.

LGNZ chairman Sam Broughton said in response that was not the case regarding his organisation having political leanings.

He said LGNZ had been around since 1989, and had worked with many different Governments. It would continue to do so into the future.

Broughton said LGNZ looked forward to having a relationship with KDC.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.