The motion, moved by councillor Tom Davies, called for childcare allowances to be introduced immediately in a bid to attract more young people to stand in October’s local government elections.
‘‘We have discussed it in the past, but we didn’t vote on it because it didn’t apply to anyone at this table,’’ Davies said.
The childcare allowance would have applied to both councillors and community board members.
Davies said the small salary a community board member received barely covered childcare costs, if these were required.
Councillors Vanessa McPherson, Karen Armstrong and Dave Hislop backed the motion.
‘‘It would certainly show that we are progressive if we were to pass it now,’’ McPherson said.
Hislop said voting for childcare allowances now was like ‘‘putting a fox terrier into a chook house".
But other councillors, including Pauline White, said the decision should be left to the new council to make after the election.
The motion was defeated by 6-4, which was a change from when former councillor Julia McLean raised the issue after being elected to the Hurunui District Council in 2016.
Ms McLean said she had no support from her colleagues at the time.
It led to her writing to the Remuneration Authority, with the provision for childcare subsidies subsequently included in councillors’ allowances, but the Authority left it up to councils to make the final decision.
‘‘The hard mahi was done by young elected members in 2016 about how to support young people leaving their homes, where they are caring for someone, whether a child or an elderly family member.
‘‘I thought that if people could see my value and see how hard I was working and juggling everything to make it work, they would see it (childcare allowances) was a good thing.
‘‘But none of the other councillors were able to walk in my shoes.’’
The demands on a councillor meant meetings and engagements could be arranged at short notice, so childcare arrangements were often made on an ‘‘adhoc basis’’, which could be costly, Ms McLean said.
She said the lack of support for childcare and the online abuse made local government unappealing for young women.
Councillors also debated whether to introduce a home security system allowance, but also voted to defer this until after the election.
Davies said while he would not claim it for himself, he felt a security allowance needed to be introduced.
‘‘I think given what I’ve experienced, and what other members around the country have experienced, this should be available because I think people are living in danger.’’
Councillors also voted to receive a 3.8 percent pay increase, as recommended by the Remuneration Authority.
It means Mayor Marie Black’s new salary is $121,782 and Deputy Mayor Vince Daly’s salary is now $41,786.
Councillor salaries vary from $29,848 to $35,816 depending on their responsibilities.
After the election, the members of the new formed South Ward Community Board will receive $6000, while the chairperson will receive $12,000.
The Hanmer Springs Community Board chairperson will receive $9616 and board members $4808.
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
