Regional council meeting
Clyde Graf
Regional councillor Clyde Graf has called for an end to closed-door workshops.
In an exclusive column for The News, he says the Waikato Regional Council held 58 closed-door workshops in 2021-22, where the Hamilton City Council held 16.
In this week’s column in Country Life, Graf says workshops are conducted to discuss pending issues and provide presentations by experts and advocates.
“However, in some cases, the information, experts and presentations are biased… the process of providing single streams of information can result in politically predetermined outcomes,” he says.
Graf was elected alongside Stu Kneebone as one of two Waipā-King Country ward councillors last October, having previously served on the council from 2013.
His column reflects on the changes he sees, saying bureaucracy-backed agendas like co-governance, climate change, and Predator Free 2050 “have slow-crept their way into a conglomerate of policies”.
Graf was part of a Three Waters team of candidates to contest regional seats at the last election.
Read: Behind closed doors.
