Media Release
City Vision-Labour Councillors - Auckland City Council
For Immediate Release
17 September 2009

C&R Councillors support “Local Government Act from Hell”

Citizen and Ratepayer (C&R) councillors at Auckland City Council’s Finance & Strategy Committee yesterday refused to strike out supporting a range of controversial miscellaneous amendments on the Local Government act 2002, proposed by SOLGM (New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers).   SOLGM is the professional organisation for Chief Executives and senior managers in local government.

The Committee was asked to indicate its position on a range of local government issues.  Councillor Cathy Casey moved to delete many specific proposed SOLGM amendments saying the draconian measures “gave her nightmares” and would be the basis of a “Local Government Act from Hell”. The measures included:

·         Removing the requirement for Ministerial approval of road tolling

·         Removal of all rating exemptions, including for churches.

·         Changes to enable a CEO to be re-appointed without re-advertisement

·         An end to requirement to consult over changes to council’s modes of service delivery, which would give the public no say on contracting out

·         Deletion of the obligation to include a summary of the waste management plan

·         Changes in rating issues such as Council’s charging for wastewater,

·         Reviewing and lowering drinking water standards

·         Permitting local authorities to restrict water supply for unpaid water rates

Councillor Casey said “I am disappointed the C&R councillors failed to strike out SOLGM’s anti-democratic management-driven measures.  How can any elected member consider such draconian measures beneficial to the people of Auckland?” 
Councillor Glenda Fryer said : "The Citizens and Ratepayers councillors have no mandate to recommend to Government that Councils throughout New Zealand be given the right to restrict water supply to local residents if they have unpaid water bills.   Water is a basic human right and just because a family has temporary financial problems should not mean that a Councils has the regulatory power to deny basic human rights to their citizens.”
 
“To add insult to injury the majority group on Auckland City Council today voted to recommend that the Government change the Local Government Act to permit local authorities to revoke mandatory drinking water standards, “Councillor Fryer said.

Councillor Richard Northey said: “The full Council and public should have had a say on Council reversing its current policy of opposing rating churches and hospitals. I was also disappointed that Citizens and Ratepayers Councillors voted down my amendments to retain the current identification and reporting against community outcomes and to fight Rodney Hide’s proposals to cut Councils’ roles back to only “core services” defined by him.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media