Media Release, 16 March 2016

Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers

Ratepayers Appeal against Rotorua Council on Representation

The Rotorua District Resident and Ratepayers has appealed to the Local Government Commission (LGC) against some of the Rotorua Council’s proposals.

“The Council is mistaken about how people identify themselves politically in our district. It over emphasizes district identity to justify the current representation solely by councillors-at-large (CALs). It was slow to recognise lakes and rural identities due to disconnections between the CALs and these communities. It is blind to how CALs have alienated residents and ratepayers. It has tried to make the mana whenua identity invisible to avoid being held accountable for the very unpopular decision to give disproportionate power to the Te Arawa Board,” said Mayoral candidate Dr Reynold Macpherson.

“We are also against the proposed reduction of 12 to 10 CALs because it will reduce councillors’ capacity to represent our diverse communities of interest. We support the Lakes Community Board getting an extra place for representation from Hamurana. We support a new Rural Community Board provided it gets enough places for effective representation from our distinct rural communities,” he said. “Both need to be able to nominate their own spokesperson(s) to advise Council.”

Dr Macpherson [pictured right] said that the RDRR has also called on the LGC to ensure that the LCB, the RCB and the Te Arawa Board are only given policy advisory powers. Council needs to have the capacity to govern without undue influence by any one community of interest, he said, as well as the capacity to reconcile diverse interests in the district.

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