Source: New Zealand Government
The Minister of Local Government, Hon Nanaia Mahuta, has confirmed a Commission will be appointed to Tauranga City Council. The Minister wrote to the Council in early December that she intended to appoint a Commission due to significant governance problems among the Council’s elected representatives.
As required in the Local Government Act 2002, the Council was given 10 days to respond.
“The Council’s response has not presented me with sufficient evidence on how it is addressing its problems. I consider a Commission to be necessary to deliver the strategic leadership that the Council and city needs.
“I will be sending the Commission a strong direction to ensure that the Tauranga community is engaged with and consulted on all significant decisions of the Council, as is required in the legislation,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
“I hope that the elected representatives will work collectively to support the Commission. This will put the Council in the best position to return to fully elected representation at the 2022 local authority elections.
“I am mindful that this has been a stressful period for Council staff and local ratepayers who are looking for certainty about the future of the Council. The confirmation to appoint Commissioners for Tauranga will help to pave the way for the next set of decisions early next year.”
The appointment of a Commission will remove the statuary requirement to hold a by-election.
The Commission’s term will begin in early 2021 and end at the triennial local authority elections in October 2022. The commissioner appointments will be announced in February.
