The Southland Chamber of Commerce has expressed its disappointment that the Invercargill City Council did not seek external feedback from the business community as part of its internal review.

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) wrote a letter to the ICC on August 18, requesting it undergo an internal review after seeing multiple reports in the media highlighting “significant conflict among elected representatives and the chief executive”.

In a press release issued today, Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey says the ongoing and very public conflicts, as publicly noted by the DIA, are a "source of concern to the business community".

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

"The Chamber shares the DIA’s view that several high-profile capital projects appear to be testing the capacity of the council to provide strong, united governance and leadership," she says. 

On September 3, the chamber wrote a letter to Mayor Tim Shadbolt and the Invercargill City Councillors requesting they consider further investigation and consultation with the business and wider community as part of their evaluation process for the Department of Internal Affairs review.

A second letter was sent on September 16, expressing the chamber's disappointment that the evaluation plan does not include external feedback.

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

"The chamber has undertaken to continue to work with the council in a constructive manner to ensure better outcomes for the city. We have previously expressed the views of our 450 businesses and believe that it is important that those views are heard by the evaluator," Ms Carey said.

"We would like to be able to support the best possible outcomes in this process to enable our city council to drive Invercargill forward constructively and positively with our backing."

Advertisement

Advertise on the Southland App

Mayor Shadbolt responded to the chamber on September 23 stating that the ICC anticipates several actions will be recommended by DIA after the evaluation takes place and that external engagement could form part of those actions.

All the Southland Chamber of Commerce correspondence has been sent to the Department of Internal Affairs and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta.