Wellington Mayor Andy Foster worried he would be beaten to the punch on review announcement
Thursday, 25 February 2021
Wellington Mayor Andy Foster has revealed he did not tell all councillors he was calling for an independent review because he was worried one of them would beat him to the punch.
Foster privately told a select group of councillors of his plans before announcing the review to all councillors at a meeting on Wednesday morning.
The review would look at how the city council’s governance could be improved following a year tarnished by ongoing private and public spats among some councillors.
It’s understood the seven councillors who were given a heads-up were invited on Tuesday night to Foster’s office for a private discussion on Wednesday morning.
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The councillors who reportedly attended the private meeting in Foster’s office were Jenny Condie, Nicola Young, Diane Calvert, Malcolm Sparrow, Sean Rush, Simon Woolf, and Sarah Free.
Foster told RNZ on Thursday he did not advise all councillors of his plans to call for a review because he was worried one of them would steal his thunder.
“My inclination is that if I'd done that, I suspect somebody else might have called for an independent review. I did.”
Foster said that had “happened before, on previous large announcements”.
He did not elaborate on what those announcements were, but Foster has previously been beaten to the punch over the city’s worsening water pipes.
Councillors Fleur Fitzsimons and Jill Day tabled a notice of motion early last year for an inquiry into the state of the ailing pipes, shortly before Foster announced a mayoral taskforce to look into the problems.
When asked by RNZ if he still wanted to be mayor, Foster said he was facing a “challenging situation”.
“We have a lot of big opportunities for our city. I want to tackle those, I don’t want to be diverted by the kind of behaviours that we’ve got at the moment, but I have to work through this.”
The seven councillors involved in the private meeting on Tuesday night also supported Foster’s last-minute proposal to recommend selling parts of the city’s central library building a week ago.
Councillor Laurie Foon also voted in favour of the proposal.
Foster said he would reveal more details about the review “very soon”, including the terms of reference and who would be appointed to undertake it.
He has refused several requests for an interview on Thursday morning.
Jill Day calls for Local Government New Zealand to be involved in review
Wellington City councillor Jill Day has called for Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) to lead the review, rather than Foster picking someone himself.
“I think that given you are trying to carry out an independent review, we should ask LGNZ to undertake or commission the review,” Day said in an email to Foster and other councillors on Thursday morning.
“I am mindful that minister of local government [Nanaia Mahuta] encouraged us to use our professional entities, which refers us to groups like LGNZ.”
Day said according to city council regulations, it was the responsibility of its strategy and policy committee, which includes all councillors, to be involved in any review of the council’s governance.
“I have heard your public comments that you do not intend to involve all councillors in the decision about who conducts, and what is involved in, the governance review,” Day’s email said.
“I think that it is unlikely that this approach will lead to the kind of improvement that the city needs to see in our governance.
“LGNZ [has] the national picture and years of experience in local governance matters. I think they would ensure a robust and genuinely independent review,” she said.