Christchurch City Council steps towards leaving Local Government New Zealand

Tuesday, 12 October 2021

Christchurch’s city council has taken a step towards cancelling its $130,000 annual membership of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) due to the organisation’s position on the Government’s controversial water reforms.

On Tuesday, a majority of councillors voted in favour of expressing disappointment at LGNZ as well as drafting a report on the consequences of cancelling membership and ceasing all payments to the organisation.

LGNZ has found itself in the firing line from councillors mainly due to its signing of a heads-of-agreement document with the Government.

In the 19-page document, one part says if the Government forced councils into water reform, LGNZ would not “actively oppose” it, though it notes LGNZ may publicly express its disappointment at such a decision.

**READ MORE:

* Surely Three Waters comes down to a captain's call?

* Five Chch councillors call on Nanaia Mahuta to resign over three waters reform

* Waimate Council unhappy with LGNZ over Three Waters response

* The spat between councils and Government over the future of water

* Timaru council votes to leave Local Government New Zealand

**

LGNZ president Stuart Crosby told Stuff he is against the Government forcing the reforms through and believed the heads-of-agreement document has been misunderstood, saying he wanted to clear it up in a sector-wide conversation.

Councillors Sam MacDonald and Jake McLellan have set the council on the path to potentially leaving LGNZ.

They initially proposed leaving immediately, but legal advice shut this option down.

On Tuesday, Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel and councillors Mike Davidson and Sara Templeton were the only ones who did not back getting a report about consequences of leaving.

Councillors Anne Galloway and Jimmy Chen abstained.

Only Dalziel voted against formally expressing concern about LGNZ’s position on the reforms.

MacDonald said LGNZ had forgotten who its members were, while Cr Yani Johanson said the signing of the heads-of-agreement was “abhorrent”.

Deputy mayor Andrew Turner said it was clear people wanted a debate about leaving LGNZ and pointed out how Tuesday’s vote was only to get a report, which he said he hoped would be balanced, informed and thorough.

Cr Sara Templeton said writing the report would not be a good use of staff time.

Leaving LGNZ would be the council “throwing our toys out of the cot”, she said, and point to several benefits of being a member of LGNZ.

“Do we really want to say, ‘Nope, not going to any more meetings with South Island representatives to talk about how we can work together to counter-balance Auckland’?” Templeton questioned.

With hindsight, Crosby said, LGNZ should have spent more time explaining the rationale behind its document, and would do so in the future, and wanted to hear from the sector about their concerns.

“I do understand the angst in some councils with regard to that one line [about not actively opposing],” he said.

But he pointed out it was “one line out of a whole way of working more constructively with the Government to improve their decision-making”.

Crosby said if the Government forced councils into water reforms it would be “pointless” trying to argue against it.

“You’re better to get an influence through the future processes to make it more workable for councils and the community.

“If the Government mandate this, we’ll have a very strong view on it … we’ve reserved the right to do that.”

If Christchurch does eventually choose to leave LGNZ, it would become the second council to do so.

Timaru’s district council left LGNZ last month while Waimate’s mayor has also expressed concern at LGNZ’s lack of pusback on the reforms.