REVEALED: Selwyn Council’s $30k Self-Monitoring Subscription

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Selwyn District Council is spending $27,186 a year on media monitoring.

The service, provided by STREEM, tracks mentions of the council across print, online news, television, radio, podcasts, and social media to improve “media visibility” and reporting to councillors about coverage.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Following a 38.96 percent rates hike last term, Selwyn Council apparently needs a further $27,000 subscription to see what people are saying about it.”

“Councils will argue this is a valuable information gathering tool for spotting issues, but when they start spending ratepayer money monitoring criticism rather than fixing the issues behind it, priorities have clearly gone wrong - especially when cheaper options are available.”

“Councils should be focused on roads, pipes, and rubbish, not paying for software that effectively lets them watch themselves in the news.”

“If Selwyn and other councils want fewer negative headlines about rate hikes, the solution isn’t better monitoring software but better spending decisions. Our 103 Ways to Cut Council Waste report has plenty of ideas on where to start.”

Our 103 Ways For Councils To Save Money report can be found here