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MOVED by Deputy Chairperson D Grant, seconded by
Chairperson J Gillon:
That the Kaipātiki
Local Board:
a)
recommend that no decision on the proposed changes to the
Reserves Act 1977 Ministerial delegations be made until the appeal of the
Opua Coastal Preservation Inc v Far North District Council [2018] NZCA 262
decision to the Supreme Court has been completed;
b)
provide the following feedback on the Auckland
Council Proposal on the revocation of certain delegations to territorial
authorities under the Reserves Act 1977 submission:
i)
conditionally support the
council’s position to not support the proposal to revoke 44 of the 50
Ministerial powers within the Reserves Act 1977, delegated to local
authorities, subject to the following:
1.
all decision-making for local parks and
reserves is allocated to local boards, and that the allocated decision-making
under the Parks, Community and Lifestyle’ activity for the Governing
Body with respect to parks be amended to read ‘acquisition and
divestment of all park land, including the disposal of surplus parks,
contingent upon receiving approval from the affected local board(s) for
disposal prior to decision-making by the Governing Body’.
2.
transparency between the Governing Body
and Local Board is increased to ensure that decisions are made in line with
the delegations as outlined in the Governance
Framework Review;
ii) supports the following submission points:
1. that substantive justification for the proposed revocation of
delegations has not been proven, and a clear identification of the problems
exercising dual delegations by councils under the Reserves Act 1977 is
lacking;
2. that the proposed revocation of delegations will undermine local
decision-making and community outcomes and it would be a backwards step to
undo decision-making at the local level for local communities;
3. that the proposed revocation of delegations will add significant
delays to all Reserves Act 1977 processes, and council’s ability to be
responsive to communities will be severely impacted;
4. that the revocation of delegations will mean that the Minister of
Conservation (or delegate) will largely focus on whether procedural steps
were followed, and decision-making would be undertaken with little
understanding of local issues;
iii) request the addition of the following submission point:
1. that the costs
associated with the Department of Conservation’s processing of
applications has not been stipulated, and therefore it is unclear how this
will impact on Auckland Council ratepayers and project budgets;
iv)
note that it is premature to justify
changes to the Reserves Act 1977 Ministerial delegations, as they are based
on comments made by the Court of Appeal in its decision of Opua Coastal
Preservation Inc v Far North District Council [2018] NZCA 262, and this case has
also been appealed to the Supreme Court;
v)
recommend a full review of the Reserves
Act 1977, rather than an update of the Reserves Act Guide 2004, as
noted in the council submission;
vi)
support other key points highlighted in
the council submission, which include:
1. council has significant experience exercising its responsibilities
and delegations under the Reserves Act 1977;
2. council has invested in processes, systems and practices to allow
robust dual decision-making, while managing any potential or actual conflicts
of interest;
3. the Ministerial delegations are essential for council to manage
the enormous scale and volume of decisions that are required for the
effective and efficient administration of reserves, as required under the
Reserves Act 1977.
A division was called for,
voting on which was as follows:
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For
Chairperson J Gillon
Member P Gillon
Deputy Chairperson D Grant
Member A Tyler
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Against
Member A Hartley
Member K McIntyre
Member A Smithson
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Abstained
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The motion was declared carried by 4 votes to 3.
CARRIED
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