Whakatane Action Group

Mayor Victor Luca opened a mayoral leadership debate in the Beacon on November 8 when he asked the question “Do we need more powerful mayors?”.

In the article, Dr Luca recounts the very limited power of mayors in New Zealand and makes the comment, “By the standards of the boss of a commercial business, mayoral powers are laughable”.

He also talked about “the difficulty I seem to have implementing the agenda I went to the community with”. The mayor is only one vote at a council table of eleven elected representatives and that is unfortunate for any mayor wanting to progress a community approved mandate.

Since November 8, there have been a number of responses to the mayor’s article in the Beacon and elsewhere. Councillor Nandor Tanczos chipped in with his generic leadership views in the Beacon in a November 27 opinion piece.

The Whakatāne Action Group does not consider Mr Tanczos’ article relevant to any discussion about mayoral powers and our mayor’s leadership. His expressed leadership views are too generic and idealistic and not relevant to the business of being an elected mayor in New Zealand with a community approved mandate.

To understand the Whakatāne Action Group’s concerns about Mr Tanczos’ article, it is useful to review the 2022 council election profile statements of Dr Luca and Mr Tanczos.

Dr Luca promised rates affordability, responsible governance, fact-based decision making in the face of complexity, fairness, efficiency and a focus on needs rather than wants as the economy entered into troubled waters.

Mr Tanczos’ promised to be a consensus builder, leveraging his track record of working across political, social and cultural divides to build agreement around difficult issues. He also promised to be genuinely listening to all our communities, understanding people's issues and concerns.

The problem with consensus builders is that consensus’s support the status quo, support mediocrity, stifle innovation, strangle change and generate analysis paralysis. A leader with a vision and a mandate, on the other hand, pursues completely the opposite, attacks sacred cows, wants change and wants to get (often very necessary and urgent) things done.

The Whakatāne Action Group supports the mayor’s mandate (and especially his rates affordability mandate) over anyone who personally avoids difficult decisions using widely inclusive, politically correct (shall we say woke) consensus building that does not upset anyone. Times are tough - the community needs change in local government and not the steady ship of status quo.

Now, let’s talk about leadership rights of New Zealand mayors under the Local Government Act.

Section 41A (1) states “The role of a mayor is to provide leadership to the other members of the territorial authority.”

The Whakatāne Action Group considers it unfortunate that our mayor is largely unable to progress his mandate because our elected councillors do not acknowledge with grace and respect his election success, his legislated leadership role and his community approved mandate. Our councillors should be inspired by the mayor’s mandate, enthusiastic about the changes he seeks, right behind him at every turn and not continuously undermining him with their majority of votes.

It is time for our councillors to grow up and abandon their personal agendas, respect the will of the community, get behind our mayor, respect the mayor’s legislated leadership and fully embrace the mayor’s community approved mandate.

Beyond that there is also the question of the mayor’s council leadership rights generally; his relationship with council staff and the development of budgets, plans and policies for inclusion within council (including council committee) agendas.

Section 41A (2) states that “it is the role of a mayor to lead the development of the territorial authority’s plans (including the long-term plan and the annual plan), policies, and budgets for consideration by the members of the territorial authority.”

The Whakatāne Action Group is very concerned that Dr Luca (and we assume his predecessors) is not actively leading the development of budgets, plans and policies for consideration by council and council committees. For a mayor to find it necessary to vote against a long-term plan is an appalling indictment of Whakatāne District Council senior management and its budget, plan and policy development processes. The only long-term plan document that should have found its way onto any council meeting agenda should have been one prepared under the active leadership and development participation of our mayor as explicitly provided for in the Local Government Act.

Before we wind up it, is worth considering what is the status quo at Whakatāne District Council that the mayor is up against, and which consensus leadership would never change. After six months of extensive research and attendance at council meetings, the Whakatāne Action Group would suggest the following aspects of a dysfunctional status quo exist:

· An ever-increasing staff full-time equivalent (FTE)with a penchant for spending on nice-to-haves. These drive ongoing rates rises well in excess of the inflation rates and ratepayer income increases and out-of-control operating deficit debt borrowing.

· A top-heavy silo management structure that supports the status quo, excessive staff numbers and fails to hold staff accountable for costly blunders.

· A seriously dysfunctional information gap both across council areas but especially between council staff and the mayor and councillors.

· Project staff too focused on building their resumes instead of always acting in the best interests of the community.

· A non-challenging corporate culture based too much on “this is the way we have always done it”.

· Hands-off elected councillors who have abandoned detailed spreadsheets and rely on reassuring (but misleading) words in staff reports.

The current situation at the council with regard to Dr Luca’s leadership and his inability to progress his community approved mandate very much brings to mind the recent US presidential election. Donald Trump has shown politicians worldwide what happens when you try to hold onto the sacred cows of the status quo for too long and ignore a hurting community in difficult economic times.

Without doubt the Whakatāne Action Group is on the side of change and against the status quo at the council. At next year’s election, the Whakatāne Action Group will support candidates for mayor and council who want to tip the status quo baby out with the bath water and head off in a new ratepayer respecting direction.

Stopping the Rex Morpeth Hub redevelopment, stopping the boat harbour project, winding back on spending, getting borrowing under control, reducing staff FTE and minimising annual rates increases are all at the top of the Whakatāne Action Group’s 2025 election agenda.

If you think you can support the Whakatāne Action Group‘s 2025 council election agenda, want to get involved and have the time to be the mayor or a councillor please start drafting up your candidate Profile Statement. Your community needs you.