Tauranga City will shed its commissioners and elect a new council in just under two weeks, but not everyone is welcoming this return to democracy
Tauranga City will shed its commissioners and elect a new council in just under two weeks, but not everyone is welcoming this return to democracy Photo: RNZ
There's some fear in the air in Tauranga as the country's fifth-largest city gets ready to vote in the council election on July 20.
Tauranga City councillors were replaced with commissioners in 2020 after a tumultuous year. Now it's almost time for a mayor and councillors to return.
"There is a lot of apprehension out there from all circles that I've encountered, there's a bit of unease as to who's going to be elected," Bay of Plenty Times senior journalist Kiri Gillespie tells The Detail.
"They're really concerned that history will repeat itself and we'll return to the same dysfunction as we had before the commissioners - we've got six of the former council running again."
A resident survey from July last year shows an increased satisfaction with the council over the commissioners' term, though another, from March of this year, shows the opposite.
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"To be completely fair, most of the people I've encountered through all sorts of means, whether I'm going out on a job and I'm interviewing somebody my own social circles or things like that - the general consensus is that they're pleased with what the commissioners have done," Gillespie says.
Many people have thrown their hats in the ring for a place at the council table - 85 candidates are vying for 10 seats, including 15 going for the mayoralty. These include Olympic gold-medal winning rower Mahé Drysdale and singer-songwriter Ria Hall. There are a few familiar faces with their hands up too, including a former mayor and former councillors.
"Ultimately it's up to the voters, they all know who was there before and who the fresh faces are," Gillespie says.
"But it's that fine balance of wanting to elect a council with experience and know-how but also fresh blood where you won't necessarily get the dysfunction that we had before, so it's a real unknown."
The commissioners, led by former National MP Anne Tolley, wrote to Local Government minister Simeon Brown late last year, suggesting a new hybrid council model would be best for the city.
This would consist of six elected councillors and four commissioners, with a commissioner as chair. But the idea was rejected.
The Detail talks to Local Government New Zealand president and Selwyn district mayor Sam Broughton about whether this is a good idea.
"Councils currently have hybrid models within them," he says.
"Audit and risk committees have appointed members sitting alongside elected members to bring in the right expertise. It's not something that's unfamiliar with local councils - but having the governing body having appointed members, that's quite another step and is something that I think the government and New Zealanders should be involved in," he says.
"Moving back to what we would expect for our country I think is the right thing to do at the moment, whether there's a future discussion about having mixed models of leadership or other models - that might be a future discussion - but that's not for Tauranga right now."
This election won't put Tauranga forever out of step with local body elections in the rest of the country, as the council elected this month will serve a slightly longer term rather than facing re-election next year.
If you are interested in learning more about settlers in New Zealand, have a look at RNZ's Here Now series.
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