Latest news with #NobbyClark
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Nobby Clark delays policy over diversity concern
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark says he would leave the policy's adoption on the table while he met with council staff to discuss implications. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark has drawn the ire of some councillors after stalling the council's new procurement policy over concerns with a diversity question. The issue relates to the Invercargill City Council now asking businesses whether they record diversity data as part of the tender process, noting they would not be excluded if they didn't. On Tuesday, Clark chaired a meeting where the updated procurement policy was set for approval following a recommendation from the finance and policy committee on 20 May. But the mayor - who was absent from that committee meeting - said he received feedback from "a number of councillors" uncomfortable with the policy dealing with diversity data. Clark said he would leave its adoption on the table while he met with council staff to discuss implications. Mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said collecting the data was a small matter that didn't cost anything. "If a contractor feels disadvantaged by the fact that we asked the question, they need to be looking in the mirror, because I don't think this is an unusual request in 2025. It was in 1965. I would be sad if we chose to return there," Cook said. Councillor Lesley Soper, who chaired the finance and policy committee where the recommendation was approved, took strong exception to Clark using his power as council chair to delay adoption. Soper said she was unaware councillors had gone behind her back to raise issues and believed Clark was trying to usurp the democratic process. The move set a dangerous precedent for council because it showed outcomes at committee level could be changed down the line, she said. "I strongly protest this abuse of council's process." Councillor Alex Crackett also took issue with the mayor, saying the process was not being run correctly and was a "perversion of democracy". Despite pressure from some, Clark backed his decision to defer the policy's adoption. Other questions asked under the council's revised policy include whether the business is local and whether it monitors carbon impact. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark at odds with council over blacking-out inappropriate language
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark doesn't believe his council should redact comments made by the public. Photo: Supplied / Otago Daily Times Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark believes his council should not redact feedback from the public, even if it is difficult to hear. His comment comes at a time when councils are dealing with an increase of inappropriate language in public submissions. In Invercargill, it is a problem which has led to staff blacking-out some parts of feedback. The council raised the issue in a report last week as it works to introduce an official policy for dealing with community input. Clark told Local Democracy Reporting he noticed inappropriate language on annual plan feedback, but was mindful the forms were given out and taken away for people to submit on. "You can't then redact what you don't like to hear." There were parts of society that had strong views which might be filtered, but ignoring them was perilous, he said. "I personally wouldn't redact it. The rationale is that it's important the public know the sort of feedback we get." Council policy and engagement manager Rhiannon Suter said submissions could be redacted if they contained offensive language, threats, were potentially defamatory, or could lead to abuse of the hearing process. A recommendation would now be made to council to adopt a submissions policy, which would clarify expectations around appropriate language, Suter said. "It is hoped that this will see a reduction in the number of submissions needing redaction." A report prepared for a committee meeting showed the council relied on an "internal approach" for handling feedback instead of an actual policy. In relation to inappropriate language, it gave the example of last year's consultation for Te Unua Museum of Southland where 14 of 286 responses - or almost 5 percent - had to be redacted due to content. A number of other councils were also addressing the issue which was on the rise across the country, the report said. It also discussed social media comments, which didn't meet the criteria for being a formal submission but were summarised by staff for inclusion in documents. That approach would continue under the new framework, but with an allowance for receiving submissions via social media if requested by the author. The council was not aware of any other councils taking that approach. A final decision on whether language should be redacted would remain with the council's manager of governance and legal, Suter said. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Airfare costs cutting off city: Clark
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark feels the city is becoming more disconnected from the rest of the country due to the high cost of airfares — and it seems the situation is unlikely to change any time soon. Jetstar said yesterday it had no plans to establish flights with Invercargill. Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Mr Clark said he constantly received feedback from residents and tourists about the high costs for flights to and from the city. He believed this had an impact on the region, especially after Air New Zealand cut its direct flight to Wellington. "People in general are saying two things: it's costly to travel internally within New Zealand and not having [a direct] Wellington flight — it's time-consuming and more expensive because a lot of times you need to spend a night there. "A good example is Karen, my partner. Not too long ago, she was going to go with me to Wellington — I was going for work and she was going to pay her own way — and we booked an Auckland-to-Wellington flight, a return flight via Christchurch for her, about three or four weeks before the actual flight date. "[The cost] was ... well above $1000 return." He said he spoke with Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran when the airline decided to cut the direct flight from Wellington at the beginning of the year, and was told it was due to maintenance costs and fuel prices. "I personally think that it's an easy option just to take out the most southern one, which is frustrating. "I appreciate that we've got a direct flight to Auckland, but I understand the Invercargill and Wellington direct flight was more than 80% occupancy, so it's not as though it wasn't being supported." He believed one of the major problems was the lack of competition in the Invercargill market. "My thoughts are anywhere you don't have competition, you don't have competitive prices. I mean, no doubt about that. "The thing is [the airlines] would be here if they thought there was a competitive market for them. We've had players here before. We had that Australian company that was here at one stage, but they didn't survive." Many comments in social media talked about the possibility of another airline operating from Invercargill. When approached for comment, Jetstar said it operated flights from Queenstown and Dunedin airports, but a spokesman said there were no plans to establish flights from Invercargill. "While we're always looking to open up new destinations for travellers, we don't have any plans to launch flights to Invercargill at the moment. "Right now, Jetstar is focused on the launch of three new transtasman routes in June, which will provide more choice and low fares for Kiwis."
