Tasman Council Makes a Mockery of Consultation.

Duncan Eddy from CommunityAction for People and Planet cannot understand why the Tasman District Council didn't even consider the representation model preferred by the majority of councillors and submitters when resuming discussions on Tasman's Representation Review yesterday.

The Motueka based community advocate believes District residents were under the impression that retaining the current representation model was the likely outcome of this review. Council earlier claimed to have made a bold stand in support of community wishes to retain the District's current number of councillors and community boards'. (1)

The options Council considered yesterday were ad hoc, and make a mockery of the consultation process.” Said Mr Eddy.

The proposal the TDC put out for public consultation in June was that the status quo of 13 councillors and Community Boards in both Motueka and Golden Bay be retained. Over 700 submissions were received, with the vast majority supporting that proposal.

The move to retain the status quo had the numbers around the council table and strong community support. I cannot understand why this option was not even on the table for consideration yesterday.

Many residents in the large and diverse Tasman District are concerned about losing access to local decision making and representation. Councillors who previously supported retaining the status quo should have stuck to their guns and done the right thing by their constituents Mr Eddy concluded.

Last month Mr Eddy presented Council with 100 CommunityAction pro forma submissions signed by individuals in the Tasman District who support preserving the status quo.

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