Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz supports the Future of Local Government Review panel’s draft recommendation to increase council terms to four years. Photo: Rebecca Grunwell/Gisborne Herald
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz has shown early support for a number of proposed reforms that aim to shake up how local government is done in New Zealand.
Eighteen months ago, Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta set up an independent panel for the Future of Local Government Review, hoping to improve the well-being of New Zealanders by understanding how local democracy needs to evolve.
Some of the key issues identified included low voter turnout and a lack of diversity around council tables.
The panel recently released 29 draft recommendations ahead of its final report due in June next year.
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They include mana whenua appointees potentially sitting alongside Māori ward councillors, 16-year-olds getting the right to vote, and moving all councils to the Single Transferable Vote system.
It also recommended better remuneration for councillors and moving terms from three to four years.
Stoltz said she was pleased to see the panel beginning to share clearer ideas and recommendations with the sector.
The council had met virtually with the group earlier in the year, and would host them again on 14 November to discuss the proposed changes.
Stoltz said she supported the panel's intention to make positions more desirable by increasing pay for councillors.
"At this stage, councils are set up as a part-time position - only the mayor is a full-time position," she said.
"But the hours committed to being a councillor don't really allow you to do any other work.
"Making it a position that is more equivalent to a full-time position, and remuneration reflecting that, will attract more quality candidates to consider local government as a career."
Stoltz also backed extending terms to four years, saying it would allow councils to focus on long-term work programmes.
In October, Gisborne held its first election under the Single Transferable Voting system, which the Mayor admitted wasn't without "some hiccups".
On the Saturday night of the election, candidate Charlie Reynolds received a phone call from the chief executive informing him he had gained a seat, only to have it taken away once the vote-counting system completed further iterations.
Regardless, Stoltz indicated it could be a good move for other councils to follow suit.
"I do know that it is a system that produces fairer representation.
"At this stage, the majority of the voting public do not yet understand the system, so I can see some pushback with the proposal to move all councils to Single Transferable Voting."
At the start of the consultation, the council asked the panel if they were considering including health and education in their thinking around the roles of councils.
"I will be interested to test their thinking around that more when we meet up on the 14th."
The panel hopes to hear from a wide range of people on its proposals before submissions on the draft close in February 2023.
A final report isn't expected until June 2023.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air