How can councillors be expected to govern when those governed are throttling information?

Responding to news that Wellington City Council’s former CEO withheld a damning report into the Council's dysfunctional relationship with Wellington Water, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said the decision was “reprehensible, especially given it was kept from elected councillors responsible for water infrastructure.”

“But even more concerning is former councillor Sean Rush’s claim that withholding information isn’t just historic. He says Council executives have continued to suppress information that doesn’t suit their agenda, skewing data, blocking access, and treating elected members as obstacles to work around.”

"We regularly get reports like this from the country's local government elected representatives and it is why we have long argued for strengthened access to information for councillors, similar to what company directors enjoy."

“In the private sector, company directors have a legal duty to guide and monitor the companies they oversee, so the law gives them full access to the information they need to do so. Councillors carry comparable responsibilities for billions of dollars in public assets and ratepayer funds, yet they have weaker information rights than the director of a small company.”

"Local Government Minister Simon Watts has failed to grasp the nettle. Instead of fixing this imbalance, he currently has a Bill before Parliament that places the decision of what information councillors can access first and foremost in the hands of council CEOs. That is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."

“Councillors have repeatedly said they have lacked the information they needed when making major financial decisions, from the town hall rebuild debacle to airport share sales and long-term planning. How many times does it need to happen before Parliament will give local councillors the tools they need for effective governance and oversight?"