Support for city councillor’s idea of ‘more inclusive’ meeting schedules

A PUSH by a Dunedin city councillor to make local government meetings more accommodating could soon be Local Government New Zealand policy.

At a recent LGNZ Zone 5 and 6 meeting, which covers all South Island councils, Cr Aaron Hawkins won support for a push to make council meeting schedules ‘‘more inclusive’’.

The idea was for councils to try to schedule official business ‘‘in such a way as to make standing for office a more viable option’’, Cr Hawkins’ remit said.

A councillor’s role was traditionally considered parttime, and remuneration set accordingly, making it easier for those who were selfemployed, semiretired or independently wealthy to stand.

Cr Hawkins told the Otago Daily Times the new approach could mean councils in smaller areas, where remuneration was lower, tried to hold all their meetings on the same one or two days a week.

That would let people take other jobs, or plan for child care, around their council duties.

In larger centres, the change could focus more on guarantee ing one or two days a week without formal council business, to allow some room for elected representatives to reman involved in other professional fields, ‘‘should they want to go back fulltime’’ in the future.

The aim was to try to encourage more people, from other walks of life, to stand for election, he said.

‘‘It is intentionally vague, because it will look different in different places.

‘‘All it asks is that councils commit to making as much of an effort as they can to make their schedules as accommodating as they can,’’ Cr Hawkins said.

His remit was supported at the Zone 5 and 6 meeting, so had the backing of all South Island councils.

It would be debated by the LGNZ full membership at its next AGM in July 2019, and could then become the organisation’s national policy.