Thursday is Timmsday

We meet on Thursday in the boardroom at ES (the public are welcome - please join us for what will be a fascinating look into how local politicians operate. Or you could find some wet paint and watch that dry :-) to thrash out the Timms affair. Already behind the scenes, there's been plenty of thrashing. Most of the action has been around the manner in which this meeting has been "shaped" by Acting Chairman Nicol Horrell and his supporters. Concern around the choice of "confidence" as the motion to be put has already been expressed in the media. Legal opinion said that the use of a motion of confidence is unprecedented in local body politics - they could find no previous case to base their opinion on. Votes of "no confidence" were the usual practice. Acting chairman Horrell said he chose a confidence motion because "it would be improper" for him to move a vote of no confidence in Ali Timms. I'm unsure how that could be, given that it's normal practice in other councils.
The agenda for the meeting provided another surprising aspect to the affair. It paints a rosy picture of our chairman and her attainments, but doesn't mention her fall from grace, described as "unacceptable" and given the council's stamp of "extreme disapproval", at all. In it, we read that Ms Timms has "been a hardworking and effective chairman" and that the meeting  "gives the council the opportunity to consider Ali's performance as chair since the last election", which all sounds very positive, doesn't it.
Latest in this series of "developments" is the news that Ms Timms will vote on the motion of "confidence"...in herself. At first hearing, this sounds ludicrous. Bias is something councillors are constantly challenged to avoid having and it's impossible to see how Ms Timms cannot be 100% biased when it comes to a vote to establish confidence in herself. Were she not intending to vote for herself, she'd have stood down by now, saving the council a good deal of money and time. It may be usual practice for someone in this position to vote I don't know, but it sure smells funny to me. I suspect there will be many Southland people, those interested in this democratic process anyway, who find that more than just a little curious. We'll see if there is any reaction following the drama of the day.
The individual councillors will each be presenting their view of Ms Timms "performance" and I'm certain there will be strong opinions expressed. It all comes down though, to the numbers. If Ms Timms can marshal 6 votes in her favour, then add her own, the motion of confidence will be passed.
I'm certain she will have been wearing out the leather on the bottom of her stylish shoes in the pursuit of support from many of the councillors, but I've not had her knocking at my door.
Perhaps she's taking my support for granted :-)
*Update - yes, legal opinion is that a person can indeed vote on a motion of confidence, even if it's in them selves, a matter of natural justice I've learned and I'm a supporter of that, that's for sure!
*Update on the update - not so, after looking more closely at the reply. The right to hear and be heard is covered by natural justice, but not the right to vote. That's the arguable aspect of this whole affair. You might think that it is unseemly to vote for yourself, if that vote was a deciding one. There are people watching this unfold with great interest.

Timms on agenda

Southland Times journalist Evan Harding rang me yesterday for comment about where the council was with their 'chairman' issue. I was happy to bring him up to speed with developments, believing that it's important that the public 'gets a look in' at what councillors are doing, and knowing that many of my fellow councillors are very reluctant to speak with 'the media'. In response, he wrote the following article for today's ST front page.

The fate of beleaguered Environment Southland chairwoman Ali Timms could be decided at an extraordinary meeting of the council on January 24.

Ms Timms was last month outed for making a hoax phone call to a Cue television talkback show.

Pretending to be a struggling mother of two called Ruby whose partner had been laid off at Tiwai, she repeatedly grilled Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt during the live television show about the city council's funding of the Auckland-to-Bluff yacht race.

When confronted about the hoax call, she told The Southland Times it was a practical joke.

Her actions were widely condemned by Environment Southland and Invercargill city councillors. Ms Timms subsequently took six weeks' paid leave until her future as chairwoman was decided.

Acting Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell yesterday said the January 24 meeting was to discuss the Environment Southland leadership.

He intended to move a motion of confidence in Ms Timms to enable councillors to express their views and take a vote.

If the majority of councillors voted for the motion, Ms Timms would remain as chairwoman; but if they voted against it another meeting would have to be held in 14 days' time and the vote would be put again, he said.

When asked why a motion of confidence in Ms Timms would be put and not one of no confidence, Mr Horrell said it would be improper for him as acting chairman to move a vote of no confidence.

A vote of confidence would have the same effect, he said.

Environment Southland councillor Robert Guyton said yesterday a vote of confidence was an inappropriate vehicle for the council to express its disapproval of Ms Timms' actions.

Legal advice suggested a vote of confidence had never been used in local body politics in New Zealand and the usual process was to move a vote of no confidence, he said.

Mr Guyton said he would listen to the views of the councillors around the table before deciding which way to vote, "but at this stage I feel there needs to be a change".

He believes Ms Timms should have taken the opportunity to stand down when she was "encouraged to do the honourable thing" by councillors at a meeting last month to discuss her actions.

She refused to stand down, Mr Guyton said, and it was her idea to take six weeks' leave.

"I don't think her position is tenable following her public dishonesty and I think she has jeopardised the relationship between the council and other [Southland] councils, particularly the Invercargill City Council."



Her dishonesty had also jeopardised the relationship between Environment Southland and the public, he said.

Mr Guyton said he would not be going for the chairmanship if Ms Timms was sacked, but he believed several councillors could fill the role very well, including Jan Riddell, "who enjoys excellent relationships with all of the agencies around Southland and is entirely trustworthy".

It was too early to say whether Ms Timms had the numbers to retain her position, Mr Guyton said.

Environment Southland councillor Ross Cockburn, who said last month that Ms Timms remained an excellent chairwoman, yesterday declined to say which way he would vote at the meeting.

The Southland Times ran an informal online poll last month asking readers whether Ms Timms should remain chairwoman of Environment Southland, with 59 voting yes and 237 voting no.

Ms Timms could not be contacted yesterday.

evan.harding@stl.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News

Resignation call

Responses from the general public to "Ruby" Timms' hoax call are being taken into account by the councillors of Environment Southland and no doubt by on-holiday chairman Timms herself. This one from today's "YOUR VIEW" column of the Southland Times has it right, in my view:

Resignation call

Ali Timms should resign as chairwoman of Environment Southland immediately.
  Her deceitful action was deliberate and premeditated, and there is no place in local government for such unacceptable and dishonest behaviour.
  In 1995, when Hon John Carter, Bay of Islands MP rang a Northland radio station and pretended to be a Maori called Hone he was sacked as senior whip.
  Ms Timms behaviour has been widely reported throughout the country and featured on television.
  Environment Southland by association has been brought into disrepute.
  Environment Southland councillors as a whole have compounded the issue by agreeing to a six-week stand down, when in fact decisive action was required.
  Mayor Tim Shadbolt deserves congratulations for his dignity and composure throughout this unsavoury incident.
TERRY KING
Invercargill

Local input into mining debate important

(Letter to the editor of the Southland Times today)

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt is no stranger to mining, having spent plenty of time tunneling through Fiordland rock when he was a younger man.
  Nowadays he seems to be taking a more cautious approach to industries that impact heavily on the environment and asks, in his Mayoral Moments column:
"Should Southlanders accept mining or should we fight tooth and nail to protect our environmental heritage and clean, green image?"
  The answer is obvious to me, but the National Government seems to have dismissed it and grinds-on with its pro-mining agenda in our region, despite what Southlanders might think about it.
  The mayor, referring to Southland's goldmining past adds: "Our wealth is based on exploiting the environment, and now we have to reverse our mindset and collective memory."
  District Mayor Frana Cardno echoes his disquiet.
  She says on her mayoral blog;
"Of grave concern to me personally and to many others I talk to in Southland is the mining of our lignite resources."
  Could someone please tell John Key and his pro-mining ministers that Southlanders, especially our mayors, want to have their say about his plans to tear up the place?

You can't fool Shadbolt (for long)

In this week's Mayoral Moments column in the Southland Express newspaper, Invercargill mayor, Tim Shadbolt shows why it is he's risen to the top of local government in the part of the world - he's no fool and not easily fooled. Water, reticulation and the control of both has long been subject to his mayoral scrutiny and comment and he's warned of the inevitable privatization of our shared resource. In his column he goes further than before, describing the insidious way in which the idea is being foisted upon us by the Government. Shadbolt says;  "The Government has already started to invent a new language for this concept whereby larger successful cities will inherit the problems of a small rural town. It's called 'clubbing', 'harmonisation' or 'network pricing'. I believe we are witnessing the thin edge of the wedge of the privatization of all New Zealand water reticulation, including irrigation."

I share, and have shared for some time, Tim's view on the issue of water privatisation. He's bold enough to say that it's happening befroe our eyes, but that it's wrapped in clever words, so as not to alarm us. We ought to be alarmed. Shadbolt goes on to make this interesting statement:
"I had respected John Key because he seemed to be motivated by good old Kiwi common sense rather than ideological dogma." If there's one thing mayor Shadbolt and I do differ on, it's that point, though it looks as though he's finally seen through Key's pretence.
With regard Tim's 'inventing a new language' comment, I have to mention Fonterra and the Federated Farmers who are busy 'reforming' the language around farming, by diluting down the required standard from "best practice" to "good practice". Seems if you can't meet the standards required these days, you just lower the bar by fiddling with words! Watch out for it. It's happening all over. Remember Key's "New Zealand is New Zealand's brand, not 'clean and green'.
Sneaky Mr Key.

Shadders wades in

And so do I.

Feds president showed courage

I was in the room when Federated Farmers members booed their president and then walked out when he said he supported Environment Southland's new dairy rule.

  They were wrong to do that, in my opinion.

  Mr Gardyne began his presentation by saying he was surprised that dairy farmers were at the meeting to oppose a new policy that would "secure their future, and improve the community perception of their industry."

  I don't think jeering and leaving the room before Mr Gardyne had a chance to have his say was a good way to give the federation the "moral authority" it had been hoping to gain from the meeting.

  I found his presentation to be balanced and reasonable and admired his courage.

ROBERT GUYTON

Riverton

Shadbolt fears water privatization

In his column in today's Southland Times, Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt again directs our attention to the unhealthy direction we are going in regarding the control of our drinking water supplies. Tim's been alerting us to this for some time and I wonder if he's becoming frustrated by the public's lack of concern over the issue of private control over what is presently a publicly owned resource. Tim says,
"We supply unlimited water to our ratepayers for 85c a day. Neither the Government or private sector could provide such an efficient service, but I'm convinced this will soon be privatised."
I reckon Tim's right.

Shadbolt gets cold feet

"Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt believes Southland and Otago may be run by a single southern council if the current National-led government is re-elected this year."

"If the present Government remains in office we could all become 'super cities'" Mayor Shadbolt said in his 'mayor's comment' segement of the ICC's draft annual plan,
"There will be forced large-scale amalgamations", he opines, summing up what he learned at the latest 'zone6 ' meeting for local body politicians.

Well Tim, if that prospect is causing you concern, it might pay to reflect on your behaviour prior to the last election when you worked vigorously to spoil Labour's chances here in the South. Your comments then doubtless contributed to the situation you as mayor, find yourself in now. Time to dub John Key 'Mugabe' now perhaps?

Grey Power 'Meet the Candidates'

Grey Power Southland are hosting a 'Meet the Candidates' evening on Monday September 6th at the Ascot Park Hotel.

Every candidate under the sun will be there, judging by the list of councils involved.

That is, if those candidates have received an invitation to attend.

I haven't.

I hope, for the sake of the audience, that someone did!

*up-date - all is forgiven. I've been given a very gracious invitation to speak.

I suspect the podium will be quite crowded, judging by the number of candidates involved.

This is not me

Southland Times

"The local body elections in Invercargill will be a prime example of "celebrity" politics, says a university lecturer. "

That's a discouraging start, given that the photo that accompanies the story is of me. However, the author, Kimberly Crayton-Brown goes on to say,

"One Southland candidate who bucks the trend is Robert Guyton, who has been nominated for Environment Southland.

Well-known in environmental circles but not a "celebrity", and not a politician, Mr Guyton said he would be a good person to vote for because he did not have any "vested interests".

I'm grateful that Kimberly made the distinction. From a lengthy phone interview last night, Kimberly extracted this quote about why I'd begun my campaigning-on-a-bike in at Environment Southland HQ,

""I thought it was good fun to start my campaign on my bike outside Environment Southland itself," he said.

"That's where I intend to end up."

Sadly, or perhaps thankfully, the photo has not made it online, but I'm happy with it and it's got to be good for my campaign.

I'm excited too, about the serendipitous offer from Doug Bath of Gladstone Cycles, to park my bike in front of his high visibility bike shop, right at the traffic lights on North Road, when I'm not riding it.

I bought my bicycle from the shop and it just seems right!

Thanks Doug! (I'll 'do something' on the cycle shop soon, because it's so good!).