Ratepayers paid just over $17,000 in airfares and accommodation for mayor Susan O’Regan, councillors Dale-Maree Morgan and Marcus Gower, chief executive Steph O’Sullivan, group manager Strategy Kirsty Downey, project lead Vanessa Honore and mana whenua representatives Gaylene Roberts and Poto Davies to attend the recent Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference and awards dinner in Christchurch.
Award presentation, from left: Beca chief executive Amelia Linzey, Waipā Māori ward councillor Dale-Maree Morgan, principal strategic planner Vanessa Honore, group manager Strategy Kirsty Downey, mana whenua representatives Poto Davies and Gaylene Roberts, Te Awamutu-Kihikihi councillor Marcus Gower, Beca communications advisor Regan Powell. Photo: Mark Tantrum
Two representatives from Beca – Ahu Ake Spatial Plan contractors chief executive Amelia Linzey and engagement advisor Regan Powell – paid their own way to the dinner. According to a Waipā District Council communications’ spokesperson, their time and costs will not be billed to the council.
The elected members part of the total was $8674.50 for O’Regan, Morgan and Gower excluding incidental expenses such as airport transport and food.
This was funded from the elected members’ professional development budget and approved by O’Regan.
The council paid $2586.18 for O’Sullivan to attend. She was invited to speak on a panel about organisational performance. O’Regan and O’Sullivan returned to Waipā before the conference dinner, in order to attend a council meeting the next day to adopt the Long Term Plan and confirm the future of water services.
It cost $5841.88 to send Downey, Honore, Davies and Roberts to the awards ceremony and gala dinner where Waipā received the Super Engaged Tū Hononga Award for its Ahu Ake-Spatial Plan engagement.
Waipā funded the mana whenua representatives’ costs “reflecting the strong partnership” that underpinned the project. – recently revealed through a Local Government and Official Information Meetings Act (LGOIMA) request as costing $1.71 million, with nearly $1.5 million in consultancy fees.
A photo issued by Waipā District Council from the awards dinner cropped out elected members and the two Beca staffers. The spokesperson said this aligned with good practice guidelines for communications during the pre-election period, helping ensure current elected members were not given any “perceived advantage” over other candidates.
The uncropped photo was made available by LGNZ.
- The News was provided with an incorrect name for one of the people in the winners’ photo – used online – as Ngā Iwi Toopu o Waipā’s Maria Huata (Kirikiriroa Kaunihera) when it was in fact Amelia Linzey. We apologise for the error.
