Southland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Sheree Carey is calling for proactive change by the Invercargill City Council so that the city can move ahead and complete important projects.

The chamber supports the conclusions of independent governance reviewer Richard Thomson, who has identified a leadership void in the council.

Mr Thomson has also recommended two independent governance advisers be appointed to guide the council for the next six to 18 months.

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Ms Carey said the chamber wanted mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt “to have his dignity” but she feared that his backlash against Mr Thomson's report meant he would resist changing his leadership style, holding back the changes the city is keen to see happen.

“When the Department of Internal Affairs announced the investigation, we did ask to be part of the review as an external stakeholders but that was declined. So we wrote to the DIA expressing our concerns about the leadership void,” she said.

Ms Carey said the chamber felt positive when Mr Thomson’s report was received unanimously by Sir Tim and all 12 councillors on November 12.

“They were all in agreement. We could see a way forward for the next two years. Up until Monday, we were feeling positive. But then Sir Tim said he didn’t agree with the report. We are not sure where that leaves us . . . How can there be change without his commitment?”

Ms Carey said Sir Tim’s refusal to accept there was a leadership void showed he did not think there was an issue, and she did not know what could be done about that.

“The other 12 councillors accept and are willing to change. We hope the other 12 can still move forward. There are so many projects on the go. We want to get going,” she said.

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Sir Tim said at a media conference on Monday that while he accepted the recommendation for two governance advisors to guide the council from December to June 2022, he felt he and deputy mayor Nobby Clark were being made scapegoats for the council’s leadership void.

Mr Thomson identified seven key reasons why the ICC was a “council in trouble’’, with the leadership void the most important.

The other themes were the appointment of a new chief executive, the election of Cr Clark as deputy mayor, a breakdown in the relationship between chief executive and the mayor, continuing “stone in the shoe issues”, relationships between councillors and the general state of the city.

The “stone in the shoe issues” included decisions about the museum, Rugby Park stadium, the Anderson Park historic property, the City Centre redevelopment, the derelict Esk St buildings, the water tower, and the civic building.

These were “long standing, and publicly prominent, issues that Council has been unable to put to bed in terms of the [long term plan]. These appear to be continually relitigated and this also heightens the aggravation for many councillors and management,’’ Mr Thomson said.

Deputy mayor Nobby Clark and mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt. PHOTO: Lucy Henry

Ms Carey agreed with Mr Thomson’s assessment.

“We want to see out city moving forward, the CBD, the infrastructure, the museum, making it a place for families. We want people to come back from overseas and choose Invercargill as their option to live . . . To make all this happen, we need an effective council,” Ms Carey said.

Meanwhile, Sir Tim’s backlash against the Thomson report should not halt the process to appoint the governance advisors.

Department of Internal Affairs director ministerial advice and monitoring Anita Balakrishnan said yesterday that the council had agreed to accept the review findings and was developing an action plan to address its problems.

“The implementation of the plan, including the appointment of external observers, is the council’s responsibility. We expect the roles and responsibilities of the observers will be outlined in the plan when it is ready.

“Once the plan is in place, the department will monitor the implementation of the plan. The statements made by mayor Shadbolt do not change the fact that the council has agreed to develop and implement an action plan,” she said.

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Under local government legislation, councils were accountable to their communities for their actions and decisions, rather than to ministers or the department, she said. 

It was not unusual for councils to experience problems in the governance and management of their community.

Councils must be responsible for resolving their own problems. This was the expectation for all councils in New Zealand, she said. 

When problems arose, the department worked with the council to understand the nature and extent of the problem. 

“We may ask for information on how the council is managing an issue and provide support where necessary. This is considered when providing any advice to the minister about what actions she might take,” she said.

The department requested the review in August after it received information expressing concerns about the conflict within the council.

READ MORE:

Mayor blindsides councillors by slamming findings of Richard Thomson report

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