Western Bay of Plenty council use of workshops defended: Public can be ‘brutal’, says councillor Anne Henry

Western Bay of Plenty District Council has held 18 closed workshops since July 1. Photo / John Borren

The ombudsman’s call to open council workshops is a “hard nut to crack”, a Western Bay councillor says.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council closed all its workshops to the public for the period July 1, 2022, to November 20, 2023.

Councillor Rodney Joyce said he didn’t like workshops and they were used “way too much”.

”The ombudsman is trying to crack a hard nut.”

The council had started putting workshop minutes into meeting agendas for people to see, Joyce said.

”We’re on the right path now, towards more openness.”

However, there were still some detailed matters that needed to be “thrashed out” in private, he said.

Western Bay of Plenty district councillor Anne Henry. Photo / Alex Cairns

In October, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier reprimanded councils for closing workshops by default — a practice he called “unreasonable”.

Boshier called for councils to open workshops to reduce the perception that decisions were being made behind closed doors.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council held 18 closed workshops between July 1 and November 20, and another 25 for the year ended June 2023.

Council governance manager Greer Golding said there were no workshops held in public.

Asked if any of the minutes or notes from workshops had been made public, Golding said none.

”It is council’s intention going forward to include workshop notes on subsequent committee agendas.”

Joyce said all councillors were clear about the no-decisions-to-be-made-in-workshops rule. The council needed to take the public along with them in the decision-making process and workshops didn’t do that, he said.

Councillor Anne Henry agreed: “Workshops have their place, but I do believe we need to be showing the process of our decision-making through our meetings.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce says the council has started putting workshop minutes into meeting agendas for people to see. Photo / John Borren

There needed to be a balance between transparent decision-making and time for the councillors to nut out some of the harder issues, she said.

The public could also be brutal, Henry said.

”The public need to really realise if they want to have good politicians, they need to not be so brutal and give the people the opportunity to talk through the issues.”

Mayor James Denyer said Boshier’s review was “surprisingly” wide-ranging and went further than most expected.

There were cost implications if all the recommendations were adopted, with more staff likely to be required, Denyer said.

”We’re happy to move towards being more open and transparent. But where that finally lands and what is actually being asked for is a little bit unclear at the moment.”

Denyer said it would be possible to open up some workshops to the public, but some issues were commercially sensitive or involved privacy issues.

Elected members could also behave differently when they were being observed publicly, he said.

Councillor Don Thwaites said more could be done in the open.

”Sometimes you get more speeches and a less free-flowing discussion. Having an ability to speak freely is a valuable one.”

Councillor Don Thwaites said more could be done in the open.

”That would be a good thing, I believe because it would actually help everyone’s understanding of the matter.

“If there’s more research needed or the facts aren’t fully there, that’s when they tend to be directed towards workshops.”

When asked if he thought long-term and annual plan workshops could be held in the open as Tauranga City Council had done, Thwaites said it would be a good idea.

”[It would] bring people up to date on the pressures that exist.”

– Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air