The Invercargill City Council said it had a "positive start" to Department of Internal Affairs governance discussions, which were held in a public excluded session of a council meeting yesterday afternoon (August 25).

The ICC released a statement today (August 26) to provide an update on the meeting where councillors discussed the report; “Department of Internal Affairs – Request for Information."

"Councillors are pleased to have made a positive start to discussions regarding the process it will put in place following a request for information from the Department of Internal Affairs," the statement says.

Yesterday’s public excluded meeting came after Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt and chief executive Clare Hadley received a letter last week from Internal Affairs director of ministerial advice, monitoring, and operations, Anita Balakrishnan.

"I am writing to you following concerns raised through recent media articles and correspondence received by us and the Minister of Local Government regarding significant conflict among elected representatives and the Chief Executive at Invercargill City Council," Ms Balakrishnan says in her letter dated August 18.

"I recognise the Council is currently managing several high-profile capital projects, such as the City Block development, investing in the Museum storage facility, and Rugby Park, among others. However, it appears that these projects are testing the capacity of the Council to provide strong, unified governance and leadership particularly when it comes to the prudent allocation of council funding for capital projects. 

"It is also disappointing to note the behaviour of elected representatives that has resulted in a series of Code of Conduct complaints, some of which have been leaked to the public through social media and news channels. It is not apparent that there is any willingness to settle these conflicts. This does not give confidence that the Council can resolve its differences and represent its community with unified leadership,'' Ms Balakrishnan's letter says. 

She requests the council to conduct an independent evaluation of the "current standard of governance performance by elected representatives".

She also asks for a clear plan on how the council will address the issues and a summary of key decisions that the council needs to make through to 30 June 2021 to deliver the 2021-2031 long-term plan.

She also encourages the ICC to seek high-quality, independent advice to "guide and support the council through this process," with a response expected by Friday (August 28) on how the council will achieve this.

The Invercargill City Council has to work fast to reassure the Department of Internal Affairs it can deliver unified leadership. PHOTO: LUCY HENRY

The ICC has appointed independent advisor Bruce Robertson this week to guide the council in improving relationships, strengthening governance and help it assure the Department of Internal Affairs it has the structure and relationships in place to deliver unified leadership for the city. 

Mr Robertson is the independent chair of the council's risk and assurance committee. 

Department of Internal Affairs manager operational policy Richard Hardie attended yesterday's meeting via Zoom to listen and provide feedback to councillors.

Mr Hardie told councillors he was “impressed” the council had looked to Mr Robertson for guidance. 

“[The] idea of having someone come in and work over a period of time… sends a strong message that you’re looking to address your problems and move on,” Mr Hardie said.

Mr Hardie said the department wanted to understand how the council could put previous issues behind it and move forward by “focussing on the really important things for the city".

Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt said the council had "found a way forward with everyone on board."

The ICC will hold a leadership group meeting tomorrow (August 27) to outline a draft plan to be presented to the full council at an extraordinary meeting at 3pm.

Mrs Hadley said this would allow the council to provide an initial response to the department by Friday.

The final plan will be considered in public at an extraordinary council meeting on Thursday, September 3 at 3pm. 

Ms Hadley said a timeframe for further work would be developed in the interim. 

Ms Balakrishan will advise the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta of actions she may need to take under Part 10 of the Local Government Act. These actions could include, in certain circumstances, appointing a review authority, appointing a commissioner or requiring an early election.