Chamber damns council
DIA’s early involvement
A CENTRAL government probe into the Invercargill City Council appears to trace back to a chance phone call to the city’s chief executive eight months before the matter became public.
A Southland Chamber of Commerce letter about its lack of confidence that the council can fix its own problems has also been revealed to be damning in its criticism.
The information is in a raft of documents and correspondence between city councillors, council staff, the mayor, major stakeholders and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) on the matter of the DIA’s interest in the council, released by the council following a request by the Otago Daily Times.
In August, the DIA stepped in to review the council’s performance amid concerns about serious internal conflict.
An emailed note from council chief executive Clare Hadley in the document bundle, dated October 13, recollected conversations she had with DIA staff this year.
Her notes made it clear her first conversations with the DIA started in January, when a staff member called her about a reference check.
The DIA’s deeper involvement grew out of a subsequent series of broader discussions and meetings following the initial contact.
Mrs Hadley noted that, in those initial discussions, DIA staff were interested in ‘‘the lay of the land’’ at the council. That was particularly in relation to litigation between Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt and the council after it declined to pay his costs in the successful defence of a defamation claim by thencouncillor Karen Arnold, and the later breakdown of the regional recycling tendering process.
She noted that in August, during councillor conversations about the performance of the council, Cr Ian Pottinger wanted to understand what options for support for the council there might be, and the mechanics concerning Crown observers.
‘‘Cr Pottinger suggested it would be helpful for councillors to understand what the role/ responsibilities of a Crown observer might be. He felt contact should be made with Local Government New Zealand [LGNZ],’’ Mrs Hadley said.
She contacted LGNZ and was referred to the DIA, which subsequently wrote to the council on August 18 seeking assurances and evidence the council was taking proactive steps to restore trust and confidence in its ability to meet the Crown’s expectations of a highperforming council.
The council made the contents of the letter public several days later.
The documents also disclosed a September 3 letter from chamber president Neal McAra to Sir Tim and councillors and copied to council and DIA staff.
In it Mr McAra states the chamber shared the DIA’s view several highprofile capital projects were testing the capacity of the council to provide strong, united governance and leadership.
‘‘We believe the challenges facing the council are beyond the councillors’ ability to resolve.
‘‘Consequently, we do not believe council can resolve its differences and represent its community with unified leadership.’’
The underlying issues were systemic and long term in nature, he said.
‘‘These systemic failures have been significant contributing factors to the bottleneck of major capital projects, and we have concerns about the council’s ability to achieve several longterm plan targets.
‘‘The chamber believes there is a vacuum in leadership around the council table and a poor understanding among many councillors of what the governance role of elected representatives is.
‘‘The ongoing and very public conflicts . . . have been very embarrassing, and have led to a significant loss of confidence in the council from within the Southland business community.’’
The chamber would continue to work with the council, but ‘‘feedback from many of the 450 businesses we represent is that time and time again when concerns have been raised, they have been met with indifference and inaction . . .’’
QUESTIONS about Sir Tim Shadbolt’s performance appear to have dented his once commanding popularity among the people.
The Otago Daily Times took to Invercargill’s streets yesterday to ask people how they felt about Sir Tim’s mayoralty.
In the 2019 local body election, Sir Tim beat runnerup Darren Ludlow by more than 3000 votes, receiving a total of 9672.
Questions were raised following comments by departing deputy mayor Toni Biddle and fellow councillors Rebecca Amundsen and Alex Crackett, who also said they thought Sir Tim was no longer fit for the job and he should step down.
Earlier this week, Cr Amundsen said the public’s perception of Sir Tim was changing.
‘‘There is certainly a lot more critical assessment of the situation than it was before. Not just — I guess — a blind following of Tim.’’
Of the 50 people asked yesterday whether they thought Sir Tim should resign, 64% (32) said yes.
Invercargill resident Gordon Sinclair, who voted for Sir Tim in the last election, said he would not do the same if he stood for mayor again in 2022.
‘‘He can’t keep up. He’s not keeping up with the digital age either.
‘‘Being a mayor is like being a CEO of a company; you need to be on top of things, but the time has come [for him to retire].’’
Dona Mooson, of Invercargill, agreed and she said that it was ‘‘time to make some space for fresh blood’’.
Of the 28 people in the sample who voted for Sir Tim in last year’s local body election, just over half would vote for him again in the next. Jill Helm, of Invercargill, was one of those.
‘‘A lot people are saying he is physically past it and if this is true, it’s quite sad — but I like him. He’s done a lot for the city . . . If he believes he is capable of it, I believe in him as well.’’
A quarter of people asked were undecided, including Joshua
Payne, of Invercargill.
‘‘I think it would be appropriate to create a new role for him, like an adviser role, so that way he would still be a part of our city, share his knowledge but with less responsibilities.’’
Two people who did not vote for him last time said they would in the future.
Meanwhile, Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey said the latest public conflict had ‘‘added weight’’ to the concerns the organisation previously raised with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
Last month, president Neil McAra sent a letter, on behalf of the chamber’s board, to Sir Tim and councillors asking them to consider further consultation with the wider community as part of their DIA review.
Mrs Carey said Cr Biddle’s resignation offered an opportunity for a byelection and with it, options for ‘‘real change’’.
‘‘There is an urgent need for changes to be made at the leadership level.
‘‘I’d encourage the councillors, including the mayor, to take this opportunity to consider if they truly think they can continue working in the environment they currently have and make those changes for the betterment of the city, and if not, open the door for someone else to come in that is prepared to.’’
Southland Mayoral Forum chairman and Gore Mayor Tracey Hicks said it was not appropriate for him to comment on Sir Tim’s mayoralty.