No consultation on annual plan

If you were hoping to have your say on the annual plan for the district this year - you’re out of luck.

The Matamata-Piako District Council has invoked its power to forego formal public-wide consultation on most of its 2017-2018 annual plan this year.

Instead, consultation will be narrowed down to certain topics, such as the proposals over the Easter Trading bylaws.

New Zealand councils no longer have to open up their doors to full public consultation over their annual plans, if it does not differ significantly from their long-term plans, which were reviewed every three years.

The changes were made under the Local Government Act, in part, to cut back on repetition when it came to reviewing issues already covered in the long-term plan.

The Matamata-Piako council formalised its decision not to consult on its annual plan when it met in Te Aroha recently.

Mayor Jan Barnes said the council believed there were no significant changes over the next year which would warrant formal public-wide consultation.

‘‘We believe we have covered off things thoroughly in our long-term plan and over the coming year, there is nothing significant changing.

‘‘But there will be bylaws and certain subjects that we will be engaging people on, as we go forward.’’

Barnes said the council was conscious not to ‘‘over-consult’’ and ‘‘wear people out’’.

‘‘We do take consultation seriously and a ot of information about certain topics is already going to be out there in the community, through our Council In Focus [newspaper feature], for example,’’ she said.