MEDIA RELEASE

15 October 2015

[Statement by David Thornton]

Auckland Council Foreign Affairs workload expands.

More international travel for councillors and staff.

Under the leadership of Deputy-Mayor Hulse Auckland Council has resolved to join the C40 club of climate change leadership cities working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group connects more than 75 of the world’s greatest cities and is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks.

Membership will involve active participation, largely by officials, in developing action programmes to combat climate change, and attend regional meetings in Asia and Oceania. Politicians will obviously need to become involved at appropriate stages.

The Councils is already an active member of ICLEI (Local Government for Sustainability) an association of more than 1,200 local authorities within the UN.

Auckland is also a member of the Compact for Mayors which seems to be the umbrella organisation for both ICLEI and C40.

Membership of all three associations will require plenty of travel and a significant level of staff time and resources if the Council is to meet its obligations under the terms of membership of each organisation.

The question must be asked as to what benefits will come ratepayers way in return for the substantial costs which will inevitably have to be met.

The next C40 Cities major summit will take place in Mexico City and ratepayers will no doubt face a hefty bill for “Business Class” seats for the Council delegation.

The Council’s expanding involvement in overseas organisations is diverting staff resources from the much more pressing needs of the Council’s local activities within SuperCity itself.

The Council was again split 9-7 in favour of joining C40 Cities in a sometimes heated meeting, in the course of which the Chairman, Deputy-Mayor Penny Hulse, called a halt to further discussion in view of the $20,000 cost of each Council meeting as reported recently.

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