Council ‘secrets’ a big target for challenger
Eight months out from the local body elections, Jock Anderson has thrown his hat into the ring, saying he will stand for the Timaru District Council for the second time, on a platform of transparency.
Anderson, whose career in journalism include stints at the National Business Review , and a spell as The Timaru Herald acting editor, told Stuff yesterday he ‘‘wants to give the council a shakeup’’.
He said he was concerned at what he saw as the council’s attempts to use its holdings company Timaru District Holdings Ltd (TDHL) as a smokescreen for ‘‘commercial sensitivity’’.
‘‘It all goes back to the council’s attempt to sell its shares in Alpine Energy through TDHL,’’ Anderson said.
‘‘It was hogwash, and it was no surprise that it was a political disaster,’’ Anderson said, referring to the fact that the councillors voted against the proposal after major public opposition.
He said the process showed that ratepayers were demanding more openness.
‘‘As a citizen, I’ve been to several council meetings and have been appalled by how keen they are to rush into committee.’’
Anderson will join incumbent councillors David Jack, Richard Lyon, Peter Burt, Kerry Stevens, Nigel Bowen, Steve Wills, Sally Parker and Paddy O’Reilly, who have all confirmed to Stuff they will run again.
Cr Andrea Leslie said: ‘‘at this stage I will not be running for reelection but never say never’’.
‘‘My circumstances have changed since I was elected onto the council and it remains a top priority for me.
‘‘But with a fulltime job as national group manager for the Primary Industry Training Organisation of New Zealand, a farm business, various community commitments and a fabulous family I love to spend time with, I’m just busy enough,’’ she said.
Anderson said he would like to see TDHL wound up.
‘‘I don’t think it serves any useful purpose. It’s really nothing more than a council subcommittee whose job is to keep commercial activity and dealings in secret.
‘‘They can say ‘this is commercially sensitive’ because it’s been
run by a limited liability company. That again is a load of bloody nonsense,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s no need for TDHL as an entity, it doesn’t do anything that a proper accountable council subcommittee could do.’’
Delays in making information available, pushing the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act to its limit, and the speed in which the council moves into committee all concerned Anderson.
‘‘The more secrets you have as a council, the greater the indication is that the council is not prepared to trust ratepayers with information. Well, the council is there to serve for the ratepayers,’’ he said.
Anderson was the lowest-polling candidate in the Timaru ward during the 2016 local government elections.
However, he is confident that he will fare better this time.
‘‘I’ll go about the campaign a different way to last time,’’ he said.
‘‘I think I spent about $2000 in the last campaign.
I don’t think I will be having pamphlets and brochures made.
‘‘Instead, I will be doing my best to find councilrelated things that might make the columns of the newspaper.’’
Although Anderson is an executive member of Timaru Grey Power, he said his campaign would be independent.
‘‘I keep coming back to the Alpine Energy affair. I think that galvanised a lot of people,’’ Anderson said.
O’Reilly, of Temuka, said he had enjoyed his first term as a councillor and was looking forward to running again. ‘‘The machinery of local government can move slowly at times, but generally I’ve been happy to field calls from ratepayers, and most of the time, I’ve been able to solve their problems,’’ he said. O’Reilly said he was pleased with how the council responded to Temuka’s water contamination scare in 2017, when pipes were found to have asbestos. ‘‘That was a real learning curve for the council and community’’. Stevens, of Geraldine, said his goal was ‘‘to represent Geraldine residents with integrity’’.
‘‘More generally my aim is to contribute positively to council decisions so that [the council] provides all our communities with affordable and good quality core infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer because these are vital to healthy living,’’ Stevens said.
Bowen, who became a councillor in 2017 after a byelection, said he was pleased to work with a diverse range of people at the council table.
He was also looking forward to getting work done on projects such as the District Plan.
Wills said he was keen to run for council again, as there were a number of big projects he would like to see completed. Timaru District mayor Damon Odey did not return telephone calls for comment.
He has yet to announce if he will seek re-election this year.
‘‘The more secrets you have as a council, the greater the indication is that the council is not prepared to trust ratepayers with information. Well, the council is there to serve for the ratepayers.’’
Jock Anderson