Editorial: Rotorua to have its say on proposal

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ROTORUA will have its say on a Te Arawa proposal to set up an independent board on the Rotorua Lakes Council.

Thursday this week saw the culmination of months of discussions within the iwi about the nature of its relationship with the council.

Last weekend Te Arawa put forward its preferred partnership model - a board of up to 14 people to represent the iwi, with two representatives to sit on various committees.
This would replace the Te Arawa Standing Committee, an advisory board.

On Thursday night the Rotorua Lakes Council voted to support in principle the Te Arawa proposal and take it out for wider consultation.

Much of the criticism of the partnership issue until now has focused on a lack of public consultation, but Thursday's result shows that criticism to have been premature.

This was never going to be a final decision - as we've already pointed out on these pages, the vote automatically triggered a public consultation process. No final decision will be made until next May.

No one should have any issue with the proposed iwi board. It will provide a vital link between Te Arawa and Rotorua's decision makers, not to mention those who carry out those decisions.

But you can expect more resistance to the plan to give voting rights to the two board representatives sitting on council committees.

This would appear to be the crux of the issue and is where the battle for public acceptance will be fought.

For many it will involve getting their heads around the issue of unelected representatives voting on their behalf alongside elected representatives - and we don't yet know whether those Te Arawa board members will be nominated or elected by the iwi.

A lot of people have had a lot to say on the partnership proposal over the past six or seven months - both for and against.

The public consultation process will give them a chance to officially have their say, and let's hope it allows for a greater understanding of what it would mean for the council, for the iwi and for Rotorua.

And, to borrow a phrase from John Key, at the end of the day our 13 elected representatives will have their say - that's democracy isn't it?