Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark wants a decision on a renewed charter with mana whenua to be left to the next council. Photo: ODT/Supplied
Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark has used his power as chair to delay a decision on a memorandum of understanding with mana whenua.
Since 1997, a charter has been in place between the four Southland councils and the four Murihiku Papatipu Rūnaka to guide ongoing relationships.
But acceptance of the revised agreement was put on the backburner by Clark this week, who felt a decision should be made by the incoming council.
Clark said it was an important document and wanted the new members to be given an opportunity to discuss, understand and embrace it.
"So I think it would be timely for us to leave that to the next council to deliberate on, which would mean that we push it out by a couple of months given that it's already five years overdue," he said.
The document is supposed to be reviewed every five years but has only been through that process twice prior to this year - once in 2003 and again in 2015/16.
Clark's stance was supported by deputy mayor Tom Campbell, who said he'd "managed to go through the last three years blithely ignorant of the document's existence".
Leaving the decision to the next council meant there would be proper debate and a better understanding, he said.
In response, mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook said she was saddened Campbell had survived the term without being aware of the agreement.
Cook feared delaying the decision meant the incoming council might be able to undo some of the good work that had been done, instead of sending a message there was a good relationship.
Mana whenua representative Pania Coote supported Cook, saying the document involved a lot of work from external groups.
Councillor Lesley Soper said it was a "sterling" document that had undergone extensive consultation, while Ria Bond said it was important to make a decision.
Ian Pottinger agreed, saying the recommendation put to the council was straightforward.
"I think it's a very soft option kicking it for touch. We're here to govern."
Before making his decision, Clark sought advice from council manager governance and legal Michael Morris on whether binding decisions should be made leading up to elections.
Morris said that was dependent on how significant the item was, but a memorandum of understanding was unlikely to be considered significant under the matrix.
Clark was supported in his decision to delay by councillors Grant Dermody, Trish Boyle and Barry Stewart.
The updated charter was adopted by Environment Southland last week.
Three councils outside of Southland are also included in the agreement - Queenstown Lakes District Council, Clutha District Council and Otago Regional Council.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
