The first quarterly report of the Invercargill City Council’s external appointees Jeff Grant and Lindsay McKenzie shows positive progress to address issues raised in the Thomson Report, but notes more needs to be done.

The Thomson Report was produced in October 2020 by independent reviewer Richard Thomson, after issues emerged between elected representatives and staff that were impacting on the council’s performance.

The council adopted an action plan and appointed Mr Grant and Mr McKenzie in December 2020 to guide the council through a governance review.

Their quarterly report was discussed during the public excluded section of Monday’s meeting of the council’s Risk and Assurance Committee, along with progress updates from the council’s Project Governance Group and working groups.

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The reason for public exclusion was to protect the privacy of individuals.

In the six months since the Thomson Report was completed there had been “some improvements in the situation that council faced,” Mr Grant and Mr McKenzie said, in a statement released by the council today (March 25).

“There is a more positive outlook . . . Changing ‘the way things have been done around here’ takes time and effort, but we feel positive about what we are observing, despite it being early days.

“We think that this is due to the [Thomson] Report findings resonating with many, some self-reflections and the passage of time itself. The outputs from the five work groups that are doing work to support the report findings will materially assist,” they said.

Mr Grant and Mr McKenzie said they were impressed with the support the council’s executive leadership team was providing the council and committees.

More work was needed to actively involve councillors in setting meeting agendas, and a range of improved reporting requirements were noted.

Work is underway to resolve support requirements for mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt. PHOTO: Supplied

Their report noted continued leadership challenges, despite work to address the issue. Work was underway to resolve support requirements for the mayor, the report said.

The working group was working with councillors to identify professional development needs and there was an opportunity to improve the capability and capacity of the organisation in some areas, Mr Grant's and Mr McKenzie's report said.

They said the quality of information provided to council needed to be improved, recognised the critical issue of leadership by committee chairs, and noted the importance of quality minute-taking.

Mr Grant and Mr McKenzie found the interaction between most councillors, the chief executive and the executive leadership team was constructive.

Progress was being made but taking longer than would be preferred, they said.

“An improvement in mutual trust between the parties is needed and will come with time as the opportunity to act professionally towards each other is taken and the benefits of open and honest dialogue are realised,” they said.

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The Risk and Assurance Committee also considered an update on the progress of working groups set up to deliver the Thomson Report recommendations.

Chief executive Clare Hadley said the quarterly report was a good indication of the work done so far to address the issues facing the organisation.

“We knew we had a big job ahead of us when the council adopted the Thomson Report and Action Plan to address the issues raised late last year. I am seeing good progress and we are all cognisant that we need to keep doing the work to get to where we need to be,” Mrs Hadley said.

Risk and Audit Committee independent chair Bruce Robertson said the discussion with Mr Grant and Mr McKenzie was productive.

The report showed good progress on the response to the Thomson Report and provided confidence the council was on-track to deliver the results needed for its community, Mr Robertson said.