Hedging their bets between the two most likely Head Start proposals, the Gore District Council voted on Tuesday to pursue both the Invercargill and Southland District councils. Tuesday’s extraordinary council meeting was summarised by Mayor Ben Bell as a “bit of a circus”, as for four hours the Gore Council went back and forth, multiple divisions were called, and a point of order was even dangled in front of the mayor. Following the meeting, Mr Bell said in a statement several potential pathways remained under consideration. “At this stage we’re focused on understanding what arrangements best protect local representation, deliver value for ratepayers and strengthen Gore District’s future.” Council had also reserved the right to withdraw from any proposal if future modelling demonstrates a negative impact on Gore District ratepayers, he said. “Our bottom line is simple. Any proposal must work for Gore people. Until we see the detailed modelling, no final decisions have been made, and all options will continue to be assessed against what’s best for our district.” The meeting began with Southland District Mayor Rob Scott speaking at length on his proposal for a two-unitary authority for the region. “The two-council proposal recognises reality, protects local voice and influence, while also allowing us to work together when it makes sense. “I am not here for me, I am here for we, and we are here for them,” he said. Mr Scott said this did not mean leaving the ongoing Local Government Commission investigation into Southland amalgamation, but rather would “safeguard” the pathways people have asked for. Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell and Environment Southland chairman Jeremy McPhail also spoke. Both were in support of a “one Southland” option, although Mr McPhail acknowledged concerns from both sides. Mr McPhail said he was not without his reservations, stating the future and the responsibilities made him feel as though “we’re trying to build a house and we don’t know who’s moving in or what they’re going to do”. Mr McPhail wished Gore District Council luck ahead of its vote. “You’ve got a really hard decision to make today”, words which would soon become prophetic. Mr Bell set the mood for the council as he explained “ultimately we’ve been given a set of options, where there isn’t a particularly good one for the Gore District”. Mr Bell said all over the country people were becoming frustrated with their councils, but did not think this was by accident. “I don’t believe this anger is an accident. I think throwing local government into chaos, months before an election, is tactical. “It distracts and divides and it turns us away from one another, and I think we should have our eyes open to this fact. There’s a reason this is happening at this time,” he said. Mr Bell said they were being forced to condense “one of the most confusing and consequential decisions our district has faced in less than three months”. “Frankly, in my opinion, that’s insane.” The survey brought forward to council, which received 372 submissions, was also cast into doubt by the mayor, who said there was little verification for the submissions. “Council could have and should have done better. “At a bare minimum, we should have asked for an email address or a home address,” he said. Mr Bell said community input would come into the decision, but said his preference was no head start put forward by council, instead wanting to let the LGC investigation run its course. Councillors went back and forth, discussing their issues with local representation, what they felt were the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals, giving their two cents. However when discussing the future of the waters CCO and shared assets in potential deals, Cr John Gardyne then threw a spanner in the works when he called out his issue with new recommendations not being in the agenda, being the proposals brought forward by Invercargill and Southland District Councils, respectively. “I think there is a point of order to be had. It was not advertised in an appropriate length of time for the public or the councillors. “I was given them in the meeting room next door,” Gore District Council critical services general manager Jason Domigan pushed back, saying the proposals they were speaking on had only arrived in the 12 hours prior to the meeting, although he did note there was validity to these concerns raised. Cr Gardyne, after a long discussion on changing amendments, again brought up a point of order that the amendments should have been in the agenda. Mr Bell clarified it was “impossible”, as the proposals came in the previous day and could not be put into the agenda in a timely fashion. Cr Gardyne said they had to vote on the recommendations in the agenda and they “could not legally do this unless you have this advertised three days in advance”. Mr Bell said councils could recommend whatever they liked so long as it was close to what was in the report. “Lots of councils who are doing Head Starts are having to write recommendations as they discuss them. “We debate and change recommendations all the time,” he said. After going through the six proposals put forward and multiple struck down amendments, the Gore District Council then voted to continue exploring reform proposals from both Invercargill City and Southland District Council. The deadline for the Head Start proposal is August 9, while the Local Government Commission investigation continues in tandem in its third phase.
