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No Votes for Unelected Reps
Your council spends your rates and decides what you can do with your property. You should be able to vote out every person who has a vote at the council table. ACT will remove voting rights from unelected appointees, including members of Auckland’s Independent Māori Statutory Board.
Councils across New Zealand have put appointees on committees alongside elected councillors. These appointees can swing a decision, but ratepayers have no way to remove them at an election. ACT will stop councils doing this.
In Auckland, two Houkura members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board vote on council committees dealing with natural and physical resource management. They hold those votes by appointment. ACT will remove those voting rights. Anyone who wants a vote at the council table can stand for election and ask Aucklanders for their support.
ACT stands for one law for all with one future together. If you want political power, you should stand for election like anyone else.
ACT will:
Change the Local Government Act so unelected members of council committees and subcommittees cannot vote or count toward quorum.
Change the law governing Auckland Council so unelected members of the Independent Māori Statutory Board cannot vote on council committees.
Apply the same rule to every appointee, whether they represent iwi, youth councils, business groups, or community organisations.
Leave council decisions to the elected representatives ratepayers can vote out.
In our team's words:
ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says:
“With rates climbing and households squeezed, the people deciding how to spend ratepayers’ money ought to be held accountable. But right now, we’ve got councils appointing unelected people to committees with full voting rights.
“ACT’s coalition agreement has restored communities’ right to vote on Māori wards. But some councils may be tempted to counter a public vote against Māori wards by turning around and appointing unelected representatives anyway, along the lines of Auckland Council’s Independent Māori Statutory Board. Meanwhile, we’ve seen cases, such as in Tauranga and Wellington, where both Māori ward councillors and unelected mana whenua appointees sit across the same table.
“Ratepayers are struggling under rising bills. The only real accountability mechanism they have is the ballot box. If you’re paying the bills, you should be able to choose who’s spending your money".