Pricey women’s seminar rankles
A women’s leadership summit that could consume half the council’s conference and travel budget for the year has the mayor questioning its merits.
The Palmerston North City Council’s finance and performance committee agreed in an 8-5 vote to pay more than $4000 for up to four people to attend the Women in Local Government Leadership Summit.
But mayor Grant Smith has challenged the cost, saying it could well be ‘‘New Zealand’s most expensive conference’’.
The proposal to attend the event was put forward by Cr Aleisha Rutherford, who said it was one of only two opportunities a year for women councillors to access support and professional development training.
Fees for full registration are $4249, with accommodation, travel and other expenses on top.
The council’s $81,732 annual budget had $36,861 available, less bills still to be presented.
Smith questioned the need for sending delegates, and the expense, which could wipe out half – if not more – of the council’s remaining budget for conferences and training for the year.
‘‘I’m not against this sort of stuff, and I don’t want a battle between males and females.’’
Attendance at Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conferences was more worthwhile, he said.
Rutherford was critical of the 2016 LGNZ conference as it only featured a couple of female speakers over three days.
While Palmerston North had come close to gender equality, with seven of its council seats claimed by women, around New Zealand women made up less than a third of elected representatives.
Recently-elected councillor and third-term Midcentral District Health Board member Karen Naylor is one of the speakers at the seminar, and will be attending for free.
Cr Vaughan Dennison said Palmerston North’s women councillors were already strong leaders and hardly needed the training.
‘‘Our members are examples of leadership, motivation, communication and engagement – they already have those attributes and skills, so I question the value of this seminar.’’ After the meeting, Cr Leonie Hapeta said it was fair to question the expense of the summit, but believed it was worth attending.
She said it was a rare opportunity and the benefits outweighed the cost.
‘‘There was more debate than normal because of the expense.
‘‘[But] we have to weigh up the value of conferences presented to us each month, and this is one of only two woman-focused conferences presented this year.’’
It hasn’t been decided who will attend the summit, but all seven women councillors had been asked if they were interested in going.
‘‘A few of us have been talking about maybe only going up for a day to reduce the cost,’’ she said.
Speakers at the summit include Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Alex Walker and Wellington City Council chief executive Kevin Lavery.
Topics include stepping up and leading effectively in local government, developing influence and authenticity, techniques to lead with confidence and courage through disruption and change, and honing skills to empower and engage communities.
It is run by Liquid Learning Group, which purports to exist ‘‘to create fertile ground for new thinking’’ to overcome barriers and achieve peak performance.
Horowhenua District Council is not sending any councillors, but group managers Monique Davidson and Nicki Brady are part of the interactive panel discussion on mastering a healthy work/life balance, at no cost to the council.
Manawatu, Rangitikei and Tararua district councils are not sending anyone.