Musical chairs
NRC told to sort out ‘dysfunctionality’ and work for region
The Northland Regional Council has been told to sort out its “dysfunctionality” as chairman Geoff Crawford survives the organisation’s second leadership coup in six months.
Kerikeri-based New Zealand First list MP Shane Jones said the council’s politicians needed to set aside egos and personal agendas and work for the good of Te Tai Tokerau.
The NRC was on the doorstep of entering the record books and becoming New Zealand’s first regional council to have a sequence of three new chairs across a single three-year governance term — after a quintet of councillors moved to formally overthrow Crawford at its May meeting in Whangārei on Tuesday.
However, the quintet’s efforts to pull this off failed after two of its members instigated a change of tack at the meeting.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said he was being kept informed about the council’s ongoing leadership changes.
“I encourage all members of the Northland Regional Council to work together on the challenges and opportunities facing Northland,” Brown said.
NRC deputy chairwoman Tui Shortland, Jack Craw, Amy Macdonald, Marty Robinson and Rick Stolwerk lodged formal documentation on May 6 to depose Crawford at Tuesday’s meeting and appoint a new chair.
However, the meeting saw firstly Robinson, seconded by Craw, change tack. They headed into the fray within minutes of the meeting formally beginning, successfully pushing for the requisition to remove Crawford not to proceed at all, and ensuring this push was voted on without further debate.
Crawford, who was chairing the meeting, put their move to councillors, with seven voting in its favour and two abstaining.
Members of the May 6 quintet Amy Macdonald and Rick Stolwerk joined John Blackwell, Joe Carr and Crawford in voting for the duo’s move.
Shortland and Peter-Lucas Jones abstained from voting.
Shane Jones is the brother of Peter-Lucas Jones.
The list MP took the unusual step of phoning around councillors ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, expressing his concern about what was unfolding and the implications of further instability it potentially created.
He said this was a first in his political career, indicating the degree of seriousness with which he took the NRC situation.
Shane Jones said the NRC’s ongoing political drama was not good for the region.
“The ructions blight the good name of Northland,” he said.
He said politics locally and nationally was always made up of passionate politicians with a variety of political perspectives.
“When you step up to the plate to be a politician you do have the burden of making decisions for people who might not have voted for you.
“Park your ego at the door,” he said.
“Park up the political posturing and get on with the job.”
He said egos had to be put aside for the good of the region.
“If you dislike that happening, then you should leave the field of play.”
Crawford would not speculate after the meeting on what might have made the quintet of councillors change their mind between May 6 and the meeting.
He accepted the democratic manoeuvring of recent months had been a distraction for the council, which needed to focus on doing its job.
Crawford said a positive outcome of Tuesday’s meeting was that it had brought more cohesion.
He wanted to move the council forward in unity.
“I’m excited about us working together. There are lots of projects under way that we need to keep moving ahead,” Crawford said.
Deputy chairwoman Shortland, who went up to Crawford after the meeting and shook his hand, would not comment on Tuesday’s failed bid to remove him.
The Tuesday meeting’s requisition agenda item to remove Crawford also included reference to the role of the council’s deputy chairwoman during the day’s potential leadership change process.
It said that if the council voted to remove the chairman, the deputy chairwoman would then take over chairing the meeting. Should the deputy chairwoman vacate that chair’s role, the meeting would need to select another councillor to temporarily preside until a new chair was elected.
It went on to say that if NRC’s current deputy chairwoman was nominated for the position of chair, accepted the nomination and was successful in being voted in, the council would then need to elect a new deputy chair.
Robinson would not say why he had become part of the May 6 quintet move. But he said he had changed tack at Tuesday’s meeting for the good of the region and to get things moving forward as one.
Craw would not comment on his change of position after May 6.
Tuesday’s failed coup came six months after a previous successful equivalent in November, led by an earlier, slightly different quintet that included Crawford and Shortland. Crawford swept into power and the move created ongoing acrimony.
The generally loosely right-leaning November 28 meeting quintet was made up of Crawford, Shortland,
John Blackwell, Joe Carr and PeterLucas Jones. It successfully deposed then generally loosely left-leaning deputy chairman Craw, Amy Macdonald, Robinson and Rick Stolwerk from a raft of powerful council and inter-council governance committees.
Shortland had resigned as NRC chairwoman just ahead of the November meeting.
As compared to Tuesday’s group of five, the May 6 quintet was made up of Shortland, Craw, Macdonald, Robinson, and Stolwerk.
Shane Jones said the ongoing ructions had created a disincentive for others wanting to work with the regional council.
This included private and central government investment in areas such as three waters, regional infrastructure and transport.
Former NRC councillor John Bain and Whangārei District Councillors Ken Couper and Simon Reid were in the public gallery when Tuesday’s potential dethroning moves played out.
— LDR is local body journalism cofunded by RNZ and NZ On Air.