Businessman’s TDC black marks

Waimea Irrigators Ltd strategic adviser John Palmer has publicly presented the Tasman District Council with an end-of-term review that includes a ‘‘black mark’’ for some councillors.

Palmer, a former chairman of Solid Energy and Air New Zealand, shared his thoughts in a personal capacity as a ‘‘citizen of Tasman’’ in the public forum section of a council meeting on Thursday – one of the final gatherings of elected representatives for this three-year term.

Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL) and the council are joint-venture partners in the controversial Waimea dam project now under construction in the Lee Valley.

‘‘I just want to make some observations as somebody who’s had pretty close association with the council over that three-year period, and somebody with a long history, record, in governance that’s been respected by the Institute of Directors as a Distinguished Fellow, so I think I can talk about governance on a reasonable basis,’’ Palmer told the meeting.

The triennium had been extraordinarily difficult, and it was unfortunate that the council’s public reputation ‘‘is not high’’, he said.

‘‘I think that’s an issue that the incoming council needs to contemplate.’’

Palmer also said he believed the ‘‘quality of communication’’ from the council had been substandard and was ‘‘a major issue for improvement’’.

However, the council’s executive team received a tick.

Palmer said he was struck by the extent to which the executive, ‘‘particularly under Janine [Dowding’s] leadership now, are hard-working, incredibly committed, and do a job that is widely unappreciated’’.

Some of the elected representatives were singled out, including supporters of the Waimea dam project – retiring mayor Richard Kempthorne and deputy mayor Tim King. Some councillors who voted against the dam project – Peter Canton, Mark Greening and Dean McNamara – also received a mention. King and McNamara are mayoral candidates.

‘‘I’m not judging people on whether they agree with me or not, but I’m judging them on their governance performance,’’ Palmer said.

He acknowledged the service of King as a long-serving MoutereWaimea ward representative ‘‘and the outstanding job that he’s done . . . and I hope that that continues in his future role as mayor’’.

Palmer told Kempthorne that his contribution to the community and ‘‘standards of decency that you have set are an example of what leadership is about’’.

‘‘It’s not a question of whether people agree with your views – and people disagree regularly with you. It’s the courage to act and do what’s important that will be the hallmark of your legacy,’’ he said.

He added that in discussions with Canton, ‘‘I don’t think we’ve ever quite agreed on things, but I’ve respected the way he put his view, both here and elsewhere’’.

However, Palmer said he believed some of the behaviours of some councillors were ‘‘appalling’’.

‘‘I call out two councillors: councillors Greening and McNamara, who by any governance standards have acted in a way that no governor should expect to tolerate, and I think that that is something that is a really black mark on both the individuals and the council.’’

Palmer did not detail the behaviours.

After the meeting, Greening said he believed that Palmer’s ‘‘attack on myself and Councillor McNamara misunderstands the role of councillors, which was to make a decision on the dam going ahead or not, under the Local Government Act’’.

‘‘I appreciate he did not like my opposition to the dam, and I would suggest his assessment of my decision-making is somewhat biased, given he was an advocate for the dam and WIL,’’ Greening said. ‘‘But I suspect his outburst really comes from a concern that his tentacles into this council could be severely curtailed if Dean McNamara wins the mayoralty.’’

McNamara said he believed it was his job to question the information put before him. In light of Solid Energy going into voluntary administration after Palmer was chairman, McNamara said he would take Palmer’s criticism ‘‘with a grain of salt’’.

‘‘I think he demonstrated the exact traits he accused us of.’’

Dowding said she was not sure whether Palmer was referring to the council’s communications in relation to the dam only ‘‘and the amount of information that’s been out there’’.

‘‘He may have had a view [that] council should have been more proactive in responding,’’ she said.

She was also unsure if Palmer’s reference to the council’s reputation was in relation to the dam project only.

When asked if she thought the council had a poor reputation, Dowding said she believed the dam project ‘‘has created some polarised views out there’’.

‘‘[The Tasman District Council’s reputation is] an issue that the incoming council needs to contemplate.’’ John Palmer, Waimea Irrigators Ltd strategic adviser and former Solid Energy and Air New Zealand chairman