Latest news with #LobbyforGood
Scoop
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Western Bay Councillors Push Back Against New Subcommittee Rammed Through Without Approval
'This isn't team-building. It's a power grab.' Western Bay of Plenty District Councillors are speaking out against the creation of a new SmartGrowth Subcommittee in the Bay of Plenty, established without any formal vote or approval from elected members across all three affected councils. The subcommittee includes just six people: The Mayor of Tauranga The Mayor of Western Bay of Plenty The Chair of Bay of Plenty Regional Council The Chair of the Combined Tangata Whenua Committee A rotating Mana Whenua representative Any co-opted members chosen by the mayors and chairs So, what's missing? Any mandate. Any scrutiny. And nearly every other elected councillor. Councillors Raise Red Flags Western Bay councillors voiced strong opposition, raising the following issues on record: The subcommittee was formed without councillor approval Councils were not consulted on the Terms of Reference The Terms are vague and lack clear limits on decision-making There is no defined reporting structure back to councils The subcommittee consolidates power into a "small tight group" This approach is 'pulling power away from democracy,' in the words of several councillors Rodney Joyce, current councillor and candidate for Western Bay Mayor, put it bluntly: 'This is not how democracy works.' Don Thwaites, another mayoral contender, warned: 'If the Mayor of Tauranga is negotiating capital gains tax or congestion charging with central government, I don't want to see it happening in a secret little group.' Statement from Erika Harvey, Lobby for Good 'This isn't efficiency, it's exclusion. We're seeing the same pattern across the country with insiders shaping decisions behind closed doors, then presenting them as done deals. When elected councillors are cut out of the process entirely, it doesn't matter what the policy is, it's a democratic failure. This SmartGrowth subcommittee was formed without a single vote from elected members. That should alarm anyone who believes in local representation.' Lobby for Good is now calling for urgent clarity from SmartGrowth and the three councils involved. Specifically: Who authorised the creation of this subcommittee without councillor approval? What decisions is this unelected subcommittee empowered to make? Why were the Terms of Reference not put to elected members for debate or amendment? Will any minutes, agendas, or decisions be made public? How will this structure affect public accountability, transparency, and democratic representation? Does this reflect a broader pattern of decision-making being centralised into insider groups, as we've seen with the Water Done Well process? A Familiar Pattern: Public Excluded, Power Concentrated This move closely mirrors concerns raised in other areas of local governance that we are hearing from across the country, where decisions are increasingly being shaped behind closed doors, then handed down to councillors and the public with limited time or transparency.
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Mounting Legal Threats And Property Deal Patterns Spark Fresh Call For National Inquiry
Tauranga, NZ – Civic watchdog and advocacy group Lobby for Good is renewing its call for an independent investigation and a full Auditor-General inquiry after its legal advisor, Kirsten Murfitt (Principal at KM Law), uncovered another high-risk land transaction involving Tauranga City Council. The deal saw land at 57 Pitau Road, sold to a developer for $6.65 million, then bought back within seconds the same day for $13.59 million. No open tender. No clear explanation. Even more concerning, the land appears to have been subject to the Public Works Act, which legally requires it to be offered back to the original owner. That offer-back isn't recorded on the title, and Council's justification relies on a vague reference to a 'successor.' 'This isn't just about one deal,' says Erika Harvey, Director of Public Affairs at Lobby for Good. 'It's about a pattern, deals that quietly transfer public value to private hands, often without oversight or genuine public input.' Harvey says that in investigating other developments across Tauranga, Lobby for Good and her legal advisor Kirsten Murfitt have already encountered legal threats aimed at stifling scrutiny and public questioning. 'These legal threats didn't arise from the Pitau Road development, but based on the behaviour we've seen elsewhere, we are concerned that the same approach could be used to silence public concern here too,' Harvey says. Lobby for Good, in partnership with its external legal advisors at KM Law, have now documented at least seven concerning property or governance decisions made under Tauranga's unelected commissioners, including the undervalued sale of the Marine Precinct, hidden influence over candidate selection, heavily redacted information requests, and clauses in elder housing contracts requiring Council to repurchase land before on-selling it. 'This is soft corruption,' Harvey says. 'Legal-looking deals that quietly shift public value into private hands. And now, instead of transparency, we are seeing patterns of legal intimidation being used to discourage public scrutiny.' Lobby for Good reports that residents from the Pitau Road community have contacted them, feeling helpless, angry, and voiceless. They're deeply concerned that this high-rise development will overshadow their homes, devalue their properties, destroy the neighbourhood's character, increase traffic and stormwater problems, and set a dangerous precedent for suburban intensification without proper consultation. Residents say they've been shut out of the process from day one, with decisions made behind closed doors under fast-track consenting rules that silenced the community's voice. 'We hear you,' says Harvey. 'This is your neighbourhood, your skyline, your home. You deserve to be heard.' Lobby for Good is calling on residents affected by the Pitau Road development to visit and register their interest to attend a community meeting about the Pitau development. If there is sufficient interest, Lobby for Good will support residents in bringing their voices into the mainstream, connecting them with wider networks, and working together to prevent this from happening to other everyday Kiwis in communities across New Zealand. 'In a healthy democracy, journalists and advocates shouldn't need legal defence just to ask questions,' says Harvey. 'That's why we're again calling on the Office of the Auditor-General and the Department of Internal Affairs to investigate the full scope of governance failures, and whether legal intimidation is being used to suppress public participation in Tauranga.' Lobby for Good is calling for: A public-facing, independent investigation into all land and asset sales approved under Tauranga's unelected commissioners. A formal inquiry by the Office of the Auditor-General into Council financial decisions, consultation failures, and conflicts of interest. An immediate review of the use of legal threats to suppress scrutiny of public decisions. 'If nothing improper occurred, there should be no need for threats, only answers,' says Harvey. 'And if this is happening in Tauranga, what else is happening behind closed doors across New Zealand?'
