Councillor goes over leaders’ heads
Wellington City councillor Diane Calvert has contacted Wellington Central MP and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson over concerns about the council’s leadership and ‘‘personal agendas’’ of some elected members.
Calvert told Stuff she contacted Robertson by text message a few weeks ago to voice various concerns, including a lack of central government support for major city projects and ongoing conflicts among some councillors.
Robertson is also finance minister and infrastructure minister.
He announced earlier this year the Government had rejected all 10 projects submitted by the council for financial support through a nationwide $3 billion infrastructure fund.
‘‘My approach to Grant was to ensure the city was supported by its relationship to [central] government in developing the next Long-Term Plan,’’ Calvert said.
‘‘As one of council’s leaders, I want to ensure that we land a balanced and affordable long-term plan in the best interests of all our communities.’’
Calvert, who holds the council’s economic development portfolio, said elected members and senior management needed to focus on key issues for which the city was responsible, ‘‘and not get distracted by small, single issues or personal agendas’’.
She said the leadership concerns related to ‘‘the whole council table’’, with political differences often holding up decision-making and ‘‘tying us up in knots’’.
When asked whether she mentioned to Robertson the possibility of appointing a Crown observer or supervisor to the council because of her concerns, Calvert said she could not remember.
Stuff has asked to see the texts but Calvert has not yet provided them. Robertson was also approached for comment.
An observer is one of several options available to the Department of Internal Affairs to intervene if it believes a local council is unable to resolve or acknowledge its problems. Other options are a departmental review or appointing a Crown manager or commissioners.
Recently, when asked if he would rule out requesting an observer for the council, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster refused to comment. He also would not say whether he had spoken to any government agencies about the possibility of appointing one.
In April, the council recruited independent facilitator Sue Wells to help iron out problems among councillors following a series of public and private spats.
A Department of Internal Affairs spokesman recently told Stuff the department was aware of ongoing tensions among elected members but was confident the council was now adequately managing those problems. It had not received a request from the council to appoint an observer.
The department contacted the council in July to get more information on whether the facilitator had helped and whether it would be a useful tool for Otago Regional Council (ORC), which was experiencing similar problems with elected members.