Advertising for region chair ‘unfair’
The chairman of the Taranaki Regional Council is under fire for appearing in ads promoting the council’s achievements just ahead of the local body elections.
A rival candidate has complained to the auditor-general, claiming the publicity gave David MacLeod an unfair advantage.
MacLeod won one of the three South Taranaki seats on offer at the council – 132 votes ahead of Ohawe builder Alan Murray.
Murray said the advertising breached the auditor-general’s guidelines about pre-election publicity – they say ‘‘a local authority must not promote, nor be perceived to promote, the reelection prospects of a sitting member’’. ‘‘All the Taranaki papers were barraged with massive two-page articles on water quality and it was all with David MacLeod’s photo and his name presenting the article more or less advertising him if you like as chairperson which I believe is not kosher leading up to an election,’’ Murray said.
That advertising was followed in the week before the election by a four-page supplement on the council’s annual report, including a long list of its achievements, again featuring an introduction from – and picture of – MacLeod.
Murray, who was making a third unsuccessful bid for a council seat, said he could not compete with that kind of coverage.
‘‘The chief executive could have presented this or no-one could have presented the article because it was just information for the community. It was ... clearly promotional of David.’’
MacLeod said he was surprised to hear of the complaint and he did not think he had done anything wrong. He said he signed off on the advertising material and gave it no more thought. But council officers had been worried about pre-election publicity. In an email to Murray, council corporate services director Mike Nield said he had sought clarification from Local Government NZ about allowing the publication of annual reports including pictures and comments from elected members. Nield said he was told elected members’ roles do not stop in the pre-election period and they should be able to fulfil their ‘‘business as usual’’ duties on behalf of the council up to polling day’’.
When contacted Nield would not say whether he thought that was fair to aspiring councillors.
New Plymouth District Council chief executive Craig Stevenson said elected members had to tread very carefully.
‘‘The Office of the AuditorGeneral’s guidelines are quick to point out that the day-to-day business of council continues. The mayor still has a role as the titular head of the organisation. They just have to be very careful.’’
For that reason Stevenson fronted coverage of New Plymouth’s annual report rather than mayor Neil Holdom.
‘‘You will find many councils do that. The chief executive becomes the spokesperson in that three-month period [before an election] to avoid any suggestion of bias and that the mayor is using those kinds of statements as electioneering.’’
The Office of the AuditorGeneral confirmed it had received a complaint about the Taranaki Regional Council election and said it was considering the matter. – RNZ