Aurora asked to make changes

LINES company Aurora Energy has been asked to voluntarily respond to official information requests — but how the process will be governed is still to be decided.

Last month, the Dunedin City Councilowned company confirmed it had begun exercising an exemption granted to electricity companies, allowing it to ignore official information requests.

At the time, councillors expressed surprise and disappointment at the company’s stance.

But at a full council meeting on Tuesday, councillors requested Aurora amend its statement of intent to voluntarily comply with the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA).

Aurora, through its parent company Dunedin City Holdings Ltd, will now have to respond to the council’s request.

Because the company would not officially be covered by the Act, some system may need to be developed to monitor compliance.

The Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for compliance under LGOIMA but Aurora would not be subject to its authority.

Council strategy and governance manager Sandy Graham said there were a range of options which could be used to ensure the lines company complied with LGOIMA, including changes to its constitution or through the office of the auditor general which monitored the company’s statement of intent.

Cr Lee Vandervis said he understood the challenges of voluntary compliance but the council also needed to be clear it was not protecting its own companies from scrutiny.

‘‘For us to now not allow that process to happen would, in the view of some people at least, be in some way ring fencing a council company.’’

Aurora complied with requests in the past because of its association with another councilowned company, Delta, but the two companies were separated last year.