Auckland mayor tells local government minister to 'butt out' of his council's democratic processes

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown is telling Local Government Minister Simon Watts to "butt out" of his council's democratic processes.Watts announced on Tuesday that Houkura - Auckland Council's Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) - would be included in legislation taking away the voting rights of non-elected members of council committees.Brown was furious about the change and accused the government of "picking a fight"."My suggestion to Wellington is to butt out of our business. Auckland is quite capable of making decisions that work best for us."I don't know ... what the problem is they're trying to solve? - Is it their poll numbers?"If the problem is unelected people making decisions, perhaps they might like to get rid of NZTA and list MPs while they're at it?"He said he found out the change was going ahead through a text."We have a Regional Deal that says we work together as partners, not just find out what's happening in an amendment paper or sending me a text five minutes before."He said the council's committees and advisory forums contributed rather than took away from democracy."This is another ill-thought-through policy that will wind up costing the ratepayers with no real benefit to Auckland."He said he and his fellow Auckland Regional Deal responsibility group members, Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson and Councillor Richard Hills, were told that any changes to Houkura were "out of scope" of the local government legislation announced in June.Local Government Minister Simon Watts.RNZ / Baz Macdonald"But it seems now the government is doing changes through an amendment paper without consulting us about it."He also released a letter sent to Watts in July, signed by Brown, Simpson, and Hills. It warned that banning voting rights for Houkura members could result in the council walking away from the Auckland City Deal arrangement."Should central government decide to take this path, we would look to pull away from the Auckland Deal given that as recently as last month, you advised us that Hokura would not be part of this bill."In a statement, Watts said the government's decision was discussed at an Auckland Deal responsibility group meeting last week."I reject the Mayor's statement that he was not informed about this policy change."He said the Mayor's office received a copy of the press release and amendment on Monday, including the confirmed timing for its release."I also contacted the Mayor and Deputy Mayor again this morning to confirm."He said they had received updated advice from the Office of the Clerk and Crown Law that the IMSB was "in scope"."The amendment paper was therefore updated to ensure the policy is applied consistently."IMSB representatives will continue to perform their functions, including attending committee meetings, participating in discussions and providing advice to committees. The change is simply that they will no longer have the same voting rights as elected members."He said he stood by the view that unelected members should not have the same voting rights as elected members."Democracy is non-negotiable - elected representatives are accountable to their communities, and voting rights should reflect that."Changes to the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, including the inclusion of Houkura, would be made in the House this week.