Rotorua Lakes Council to stay with LGNZ as councillors debate value for money

Rotorua Lakes councillors Don Paterson, Robert Lee and Conan O'Brien voted to leave LGNZ. Photos / Laura Smith

• Rotorua Lakes Council will retain its membership with Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) for 2025/26.
• Councillors debated the value of LGNZ, with some citing cost concerns and perceived political bias.
• Mayor Tania Tapsell emphasised the importance of LGNZ’s advocacy and support.

Rotorua Lakes Council will keep its Local Government New Zealand membership - at least for now.

The council joined the list of local authorities weighing up membership to the advocacy body, at a meeting on Wednesday.

While some councillors valued the advocacy and support, others thought it was not worth the cost.

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) comprises and represents most councils in New Zealand.

It is a body that Government ministers consult when seeking a view from the local government sector.

It also offers other support, services and advice.

Other councils have reassessed their memberships this year, including Western Bay of Plenty Council, which voted to leave, and Whanganui District Council, which chose to stay.

Rotorua’s annual subscription for 2025/26 is $93,458.

Council chief executive Andrew Moraes said a trend of councils leaving LGNZ emerged in 2023.

Leavers included Christchurch City, Auckland, West Coast Regional, and the Grey, Kaipara and Westland district councils.

Rotorua councillors voted to retain membership for 2025/26, and noted the issue of LGNZ membership for the next triennium would be brought to the new council, to be elected in October.

Councillors Conan O’Brien, Don Paterson and Robert Lee voted for the council to quit LGNZ.

O’Brien said he found the commentary at LGNZ events could be “very biased” and structured around “this is how we want you to go”.

He did not believe Rotorua was getting value for money and said the council needed to show fiscal responsibility.

The membership fee had risen “substantially”, in his view.

Councillor Conan O'Brien in a March meeting. Photo / Laura Smith

He told Local Democracy Reporting it cost $85,350 for the 2024/25 year.

He did not believe LGNZ delivered on its advocacy and said the council could provide the support it offered elected members in other ways.

Paterson said his view of LGNZ had changed since he started as a councillor.

“I thought it was a great concept … As time progressed, it’s left me a little less than inspired.”

He believed money could be better spent elsewhere and said he did not see results from LGNZ’s advocacy.

Lee also believed there was political bias at LGNZ events and that it did not deliver value for ratepayers.

In “this digital age”, there were other ways to connect with elected members of other councils.

Mayor Tania Tapsell said membership enabled the voice of local government to be heard in Parliament.

She called it naïve to think Rotorua’s voice would be heard over other councils.

Tapsell questioned whether those with concerns had reached out to the LGNZ representatives that councils had voted in.

She did not think the learning opportunities it provided should be underestimated.

Rotorua Lakes councillor Fisher Wang. Photo / Laura Smith

Fisher Wang also wanted to continue membership, saying smaller towns like Gore and Wairoa and “even Rotorua benefit hugely from the collective advocacy”.

Wang, who was first elected at age 19, said he valued the support and professional development from LGNZ’s network for young elected members.

He said the members supported “each other as humans” and the forum retained talented councillors by helping them get through “baseless hate”.

“Politics can get quite nasty.

“I think we have all experienced our fair share of colourful language.”

Councillor Trevor Maxwell considered membership value for money and noted Rotorua was in the running to host a future LGNZ conference.

In response to previous claims of political bias, LGNZ president Sam Broughton has said councils are given opportunities to have input on LGNZ submissions before they are sent to the Government.

Like any membership body, it had to make decisions based on majority support, he said.

Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.

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