On the 24th of August councillors voted to change from the First Past the Post (FPP) voting system to Single Transferable Vote (STV). They did so without giving notice to the public that the change was contemplated, and without asking the public whether they agreed to the change in voting.
In an STV election, you rank the candidates in order of preference. You give a 1 to your favourite candidate, 2 to your second favourite and so on. FPP simply requires a tick by the candidate of choice. STV is a more complex form of voting and may result in fewer votes cast and more invalid votes.
A former WDC councillor has slammed the decision as arrogant and undemocratic.
Frank Newman said this is a decision for voters to make, not councillors who have a vested interest in the way they are elected. He is appalled that the voting system would be changed without voters having a say about it.
“The public should have least been asked for their opinion. It smacks of extreme arrogance, and flies in the face of comments from councillors that they want the public to be more engaged in local politics.”
Councillors have also voted to make two significant changes to their own Code of Conduct rules. Local Government NZ (LGNZ) says the Code “is designed to ensure that the governance of our local authorities is undertaken with the highest degree of integrity while also providing a safe and rewarding environment in which all elected members can thrive.”
Treaty of Waitangi principles introduced
The first change was to include the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. According to LGNZ this is “an acknowledgement of Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the foundational document for Aotearoa New Zealand and a description of Te Tiriti principles and how they apply to kaunihera”.
Ironically the change was supported by Cr Gavin Benney who is the NZ First candidate who has said privately that he expects to be ranked in the top six on the party list. Winston Peters has previously sought to have the treaty principles deleted from legislation. (Source >>>)
The motion was that the council:
"Resolves that the updated 2023 Elected Member Code of Conduct includes reference to the principles of Te Tiriti in clause 3 of the Code." (Thursday, 24 August 2023)
For
- Mayor Cocurullo
- Cr Gavin Benney
- Cr Nicholas Connop
- Cr Ken Couper
- Cr Jayne Golightly
- Cr Phil Halse
- Cr Deborah Harding
- Cr Patrick Holmes
- Cr Scott McKenzie
- Cr Carol Peters
- Cr Phoenix Ruka
- Cr Paul Yovich
Abstained
- Cr Marie Olsen
- Cr Simon Reid
Resolves that the updated 2023 Elected Member Code of Conduct excludes the public from directly making a complaint under the Code. (Thursday, 24 August, 2023)
For
- Cr Gavin Benney
- Cr Nicholas Connop
- Cr Ken Couper
- Cr Phil Halse
- Cr Deborah Harding
- Cr Patrick Holmes
- Cr Scott McKenzie
- Cr Carol Peters
- Cr Simon Reid
- Cr Phoenix Ruka
Against
- Mayor Cocurullo
- Cr Jayne Golightly
- Cr Marie Olsen
- Cr Paul Yovich
Northern Advocate article about the petition HERE >>>
