Councillor defiantly absent

Six months after it emerged a firstterm councillor was not attending briefings, she is still defiantly absent – branding them a waste of time and ratepayers’ money.

Catherine Chu, who earns $114,130 from Christchurch City Council – and is a health board member with a part-time job – has attended just 40 per cent of council briefings. She has come under fire from constituents who feel underrepresented, one residents’ association in her ward saying it had not seen her at a meeting for a year.

The political group she represents, the right-leaning Independent Citizens, has also told her to front up to more briefings.

The 25-year-old has turned up to just 28 briefings out of 70 since she was elected in October 2019. Most councillors have attended more than 60, the next lowest attendance being from fourth-term councillor James Gough, who went to 54.

Her attendance rate has fallen in the past six months. In September, The Press revealed she had missed 17 of 33 briefings.

Briefings, closed to the public, are intended to give councillors an in-depth knowledge of issues before they make decisions at council meetings. They are not compulsory. Attendance at full meetings is near perfect for all councillors.

Chu, who also works as a financial adviser, was unapologetic. She said councillors were sent briefing information regardless of whether they attended, and she usually only turned up if she had a question.

Chu wanted the briefings to be live-streamed so the public could see ‘‘what a waste of time some of them actually are’’.

‘‘Every briefing must cost tens of thousands of ratepayer dollars. There are all these senior staff taking time out of their day to tell us [things] and lecture us.’’

She said ratepayers expected councillors to use their time as effectively as possible, and she did not think briefings fulfilled that.

‘‘Maybe if the public can see it they might agree with my judgment call . . .’’

Independent Citizens deputy chairwoman Helen Broughton said the group’s executive had recently asked Chu to improve her attendance record.

Chu was criticised in 2019 when just eight weeks after being elected to the council and Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) she was chosen as National’s candidate for Banks Peninsula in the 2020 central government election.

She refused to forgo her salary while campaigning. She earns more than $140,000 from the public purse – $114,130 for her council role and about $26,000 for her position on the CDHB.

During the campaign Chu moved out of Riccarton to Mt Pleasant, but said she spent a lot of time at her parents’ home, which was within the ward.

Her efforts foundered after she attracted criticism over her apparent ignorance over Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building.

Labour’s Tracey McLellan won the Banks Peninsula seat, receiving more than double Chu’s votes.

In January, Chu took up a role as financial adviser for Craigs Investment Partners, but insists it does not affect her council work.

Other councillors also work outside the council, and Chu said she would never let go of a professional role. ‘‘I want to stay connected to the real world and encourage other councillors to do that too.’’

The Central Riccarton Residents’ Association is holding a meeting on Saturday to discuss its representation on the council.

Chairwoman Joscelyne Silcock and secretary Garth Wilson said the area received ‘‘nominal’’ representation. ‘‘No-one is truly raising or focusing on issues affecting central Riccarton.’’

Chu said she was always out in the community and was advocating to save Wharenui pool. ‘‘Maybe people don’t recognise me, but I’m definitely out there most of the time.’’

Ilam and Upper Riccarton Residents’ Association chairman Jonathan Reddiford said Chu had not attended one of its meetings for about 12 months.

Cr Mike Davidson said briefings and workshops allowed councillors to represent their communities by giving feedback that guides the organisation and ensured they were fully informed for decision making.

Cr Sara Templeton said it was the residents who should comment on their performance.

Independent Citizens deputy chairwoman Helen Broughton said the group’s executive had recently asked Chu to improve her attendance record.