Mayor blasted over 'wrong and abusive process'

District councillors slammed Mayor Sam Broughton for signing off on a plan for Te Waihora/Lake...
District councillors slammed Mayor Sam Broughton for signing off on a plan for Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere without consulting them. Photo: File.
Mayor Sam Broughton has been blasted for not consulting district councillors before signing an agreement over the management of Lake Ellesmere.

Mr Broughton faced heavy criticism at last week’s district council meeting over the Te Waihora Co-Governance agreement.

It was revealed Mr Broughton had signed off the agreement with Environment Canterbury,Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Christchurch City Council and the Department of Conservation to share responsibility for Lake Ellesmere and the wider catchment.

Mr Broughton signed it on behalf of the council but did not consult district councillors.

Councillor Grant Miller said he couldn’t believe Mr Broughton would sign the agreement without showing them first.

“I just cannot accept this, I will not accept this and I believe it’s core process at its worst. I think this is a wrong and abusive process,” Cr Miller said.

Councillors Deborah Hassan, Craig Watson and Murray Lemon agreed with Cr Miller and also had their disapproval recorded.

The agreement was first signed by the district council in 2014.

DOC entered into the co-governance group and a revised agreement was signed by Mr Broughton in June.

Mr Broughton told district councillor she agreed with their comments around secrecy and processes.

Selwyn District Mayor Sam Broughton.
Selwyn District Mayor Sam Broughton.
“My view on signing it is there were a lot of things rolling over and the main thing we were concerned about was getting DOC included,” he said.

“I’m sorry the process doesn’t meet our normal standards, but I’ll be pushing pretty hard for the whole of the co-governance group to be far more public-facing.”

Cr Craig Watson said he is concerned about the changes in the revised agreement

“Essentially what it means is the district council loses a lot of ability to be a council because of shared consent processes, shared hearing processes, deliberating before hearings and so forth.”

The agreement dictates that the co-governors adopt a shared policy on the appointment of hearings commissioners and the group is consulted before drafting begins on annual and long-term plans.

The co-governers will also provide advice in advance of the district council considering plans for adoption

“A mayor doesn’t have special authority over councillors and that’s the major concern that was raised,” Cr Watson said.

The district council voted to let the agreement lie on the table until the next council meeting in September to give staff time to address the concerns.

The district council will also host the next meeting of the co-governance group later this month.

A spokesperson confirmed the district council will still go ahead with the meeting in spite of the conflict. Mr Broughton told district councillors he will be writing to the other co-governers to make them aware of the discussions at the meeting.