Lessons learned from Toyota saga
It’s encouraging to see Grant Smith promising improvements for keeping Palmerston North ratepayers informed about decisions made by councillors behind closed doors. The city mayor is championing a regularly reviewed register of such decisions and this is a good start in showing the city council values transparency and has learned something from the Toyota grant debacle.
The secrecy shrouding the $391,000-plus-gst payment to Toyota NZ associated with its Roberts Line expansion was wrong, and the drip-feeding of details when its existence was revealed baffling.
Smith says discussions about such commercially sensitive subjects should happen in private.
This is hard to argue against, but the public has a right to know the discussions are taking place and what the outcome is.
The register Smith and others suggest, which other councils have, would have avoided the appearance the council and councillors treated ratepayers with contempt by keeping them in the dark.
Smith is adamant there is evidence pointing towards the possibility Toyota NZ’S headquarters and distribution centre could have quit Palmerston North after 30 years here.
He, ironically, told the Palmerston North Lunch Club it was a relief not to have to tell Palmerston North citizens the Toyota development had been lost to the city and the council had done nothing.
Instead, Smith and his fellow councillors – excepting Karen Naylor, who voted against the grant – chose to say nothing about their apparent good work.
Naylor isn’t immune from criticism either. She strongly disagrees with the grant, but didn’t share this with the public.
We’ve criticised the council before for holding important discussions behind closed doors in council workshops.
This situation is different because the discussions were at a public-excluded council meeting, but the same principles apply.
As Massey University media commentator Catherine Strong argues, councillors’ loyalty lies with ratepayers and the public.
They are not spin doctors for the council. City council elected officials have faced a harsh backlash over this episode and it is deserved.
Regardless of the reasons behind the payment to Toyota NZ, the decision to keep the public in the dark was shameful.
We look forward to the prompt introduction of a register of closed-door decisions, which should also include the goings-on at council workshops.
But nobody has yet explained why the Toyota NZ payment was kept secret and until they do, the issue will keep rearing its head no matter how hard elected and unelected officials try to move on.
At least Smith’s promise to do better shows lessons have been learned.
Regardless of the reasons behind the payment to Toyota NZ, the decision to keep the public in the dark was shameful.