Q+A PANEL DISCUSSIONS
HOSTED BY SUSAN WOOD

In response to MAURICE WILLIAMSON interview

SUSAN WOOD
Time now to welcome the panel this week. Dr Jennifer Curtin from Auckland University; Nick Leggett, who’s the mayor of Porirua; and David Farrar of Kiwiblog. A very good morning to you all. David, ‘total kick in the guts for Christchurch’. It really doesn’t get much worse than this, does it?

DAVID FARRAR - Kiwiblog
It’s really bad because they want certainty. The thing I hear most from people in Christchurch is they’re sick of all the talking, all the discussion, all the arguments. There’s a now a blueprint for the city. They want it implemented. So it is bad. The political fallout is quite significant. We’ve heard that the mayor’s gone. So, in fact, the actions of a government agency’s handed the mayoralty to a Labour MP, effectively, on a platter. The chief executive is going, almost gone. But there’s probably some benefit for the government in this too. One of the criticisms that people have had is the government interferes too much with the council. You know, people, including Lianne, have said, ‘Let’s leave the council to the job.’ And you’ve actually now got an idea that, ‘Well, maybe that wasn’t the best idea.’ There is a reason the government’s so involved, has CERA there, because any council, I think, would have struggled to cope with what happened. But when they’re not even doing the core basics right, I think that does change the dynamic quite a bit there too.

SUSAN And, Nick, your council, some of your people helping with some of the consents in Christchurch?

NICK LEGGETT - Porirua Mayor
Yes, there are a number of councils assisting, and that, I think, goes back to- I mean, I do tend to believe that central government has interfered a little bit too much in Christchurch. Local government is an independent body, and we’re quite capable, in most cases, of doing our own thing and supporting each other. And we don’t actually know the extent of the problem here. I think this is probably a fairly minor systems and process issue. It sounds like it. It doesn’t sound like there are compliance issues with the Building Act, and that’s would people would be really concerned about here.

SUSAN But the minister couldn’t guarantee people’s safety in those buildings.

NICK Well, he’s the minister. He has to err on the side of caution. I can say as someone who, you know, the mayor of a council that does this sort of stuff on a daily basis, that it sounds to us as though we’re not going to see building standards compromised. It sounds like a process issue around paperwork, and the minister did say that.

SUSAN Jennifer, politically interesting, isn’t it? We’ve seen mayor Bob Parker on Friday saying, ‘No, I’m not doing this again.’ Tony Marryatt on gardening leave. The minister talked about a ‘culture of denial’ in top management there. Some political scalps, though, as David talked about.

DR JENNIFER CURTIN - Political Scientist
Yes, and I think David’s right. This opens the door to Lianne Dalziel to walk into the mayoralty, and that could be a very good thing for Labour in Christchurch, because we know Christchurch Central was a very close seat in the last election. So this may- If Lianne Dalziel, who has been a good advocate for Christchurch in Parliament, continues to work well with the Christchurch Council refurbishment, if you like, it could be a really good thing for Labour generally.

NICK It would be good for Christchurch to have a mayor who is in the next stage of development. I think that’s the key. You know, we’re going to have a fresh face at the top, but also it sounds as though there’s going to be change in management as well. So it’s a new stage for Christchurch.

SUSAN And a fresh relationship with the government, David.

DAVID Indeed. Well, what was interesting, though, was quite a few National Party supporters I know in Christchurch were saying, slightly through holding their nose, ‘I think I’m going to vote for Lianne anyway,’ because they were so unhappy with where the council had been going. I think what did Bob Parker in was when that warning letter got published by the government. He didn’t even seem to know about. He said, ‘Oh, it’s a bit like getting a parking ticket. It’s no big thing.’ And I think that’s why the moment this then happened, his candidacy was not viable.

JENNIFER But I do think there are real issues around not just the process around the consents, but also how many they were having to process. So the speed factor seems to be an underlying dimension to this issue.

NICK They did increase their staff by 20 per cent. They brought in a new software system. They increased the pay to get more planners and better planners down there. So they did try and take steps. But I think, going back to Bob Parker, the issue is, I mean, he’s clearly been a great face for Christchurch through a crisis, um, but he has also dominated. He’s dominated management discussions and decisions. He’s been the mayor and the chief executive and the public face. The whole point of local government is the chief executive is contracted by the elected council to provide services. And unfortunately Bob Parker’s found himself in a situation where because he’s owned everything, he’s actually been the fall guy for what is a management stuff-up.

DAVID I think there’s one other factor here too. We’re all, like, ‘Why did the chief executive not immediately tell the council?’ There’s no excusing that he didn’t, but you’ve had a very divided council. Half the councillors hate the chief executive, and every time they can, they attack him. So you haven’t got a relationship where the chief executive can go, ‘Look, we’ve got some problems here. Here’s what we’re working on. He’s probably worried, ‘If I give the council this, they’re just going to attack me in the media.’ And in no way does that excuse what the chief exec did, but I think the wider council needs to look at did they create a culture when management can’t be-

SUSAN Get some functionality back into the relationship.

NICK We’ll be able to consider that very issue in about three months’ time.

SUSAN I’m sure they will too. Thank you, panel.

ENDS

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