Independent review into Wellington City Council recommends scrapping councillor portfolios

Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Wellington Mayor Andy Foster called for an independent review into the council's governance in February.

An independent review of Wellington City Council’s governance has reportedly recommended scrapping councillor portfolios and replacing them with four committees.

Councillors were given a briefing on the findings of the $75,000 review on Wednesday, and given a copy of the draft report. They have until Friday to submit any corrections they believe need to be made.

The review by Peter Winder, the former Local Government New Zealand and Auckland Regional Council chief executive, follows months of “rancour and partisanship” that Mayor Andy Foster said had “shaken and eroded” the public’s confidence in the council’s ability to govern.

In calling for the review and appointing Winder, Foster said the council had reached a “crossroads that requires us to make significant changes in our governance”.

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The recommendations presented on Wednesday would mean Foster would lose his transport and urban development portfolios, with a new governance system encompassing four committees to be established instead.

Those would cover finance and administration, planning strategy and policy, infrastructure, and community services.

Foster called for the review following a sustained period of 'rancour and partisanship' among some councillors.

Other councillors with major portfolios include Diane Calvert (economic development), Jill Day (Māori partnerships), deputy mayor Sarah Free (governance), Tamatha Paul (climate change), and Fleur Fitzsimons (community wellbeing – including social housing).

Paul said the briefing reaffirmed what she suspected were the problems within the council.

“I welcome the report. I am 18 months into the job, and I’ve adapted to the structure we have in place. I can adapt again to get the good things done which I’ve committed to doing for our city.”

Fitzsimons said the draft report was refreshing and included “positive suggestions for change”.

“I’ll look forward to discussing it further with my colleagues.”

Calvert said: “We know that we need to rebuild trust and confidence in the council, and the independent review’s findings has delivered expertly what was expected – a clear outline of the issues and a good way forward.”

Free said the report offered useful insights into changes the council could make to improve its governance.

“As deputy mayor, I look forward to working with the mayor and colleagues to implement its findings.”

The report is scheduled to be made public on Monday, with councillors to discuss it at a meeting on Thursday.

Mayor Andy Foster called for the review in February. (File photo)

Foster said he did not want to comment on the report until it had been made public.

The council has been plagued by dysfunction and disagreements among some councillors since they were elected in October 2019.

In April last year, Foster recruited an independent facilitator to help iron out some of the disputes.

But the dysfunction continued, with matters coming to a head following Foster’s late proposal to privatise parts of the city’s central library building.

Even the decision to commission a review caused ripples among the council, with some councillors claiming Foster did not have the authority to call for a review or set its terms of reference.

Foster earlier said he did not tell all councillors of his intention to call for a review because he was worried one of them would beat him to the punch.

Te Raukura Te Wharewaka O Pōneke chairwoman Liz Mellish, who was interviewed as part of the review, said she raised concerns about a lack of leadership and action from the council.

She said she was concerned councillors did not fully understand the impacts of rising insurance costs and Covid-19 on the business sector.

“It doesn’t give confidence to the business sector in Wellington,” she said.