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The unanimous decision to withdraw the motion for an extraordinary meeting and address the issues in-house was made in the spirit of the partnership agreement, Te Mana Whakahono, signed by the council and mana whenua last October, the rūnanga said. “Rather than putting the office of chair to a confidence vote next Monday, councillors agreed to seek external assistance to guide governance issues, and to move ahead positively and in unity.”
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Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Waewae chairman Francois Tumahai says the regional council has agreed to move ahead “in unity”. The iwi had not been consulted about the issue, which was disrespectful and against the spirit of partnership, Tumahai said.
Photo: West Coast Regional Council
Birchfield is set to lose the leadership at an extraordinary council meeting next Monday in a coup led by his deputy Stuart Challenger.
The chair, who is a Greymouth goldminer, accused Challenger of being a member of the Forest & Bird Protection Society, which he said had repeatedly blocked productive industry on the Coast and appealed against council plans.
That affiliation was a conflict of interest and should have been declared by Challenger when he stood for council, Birchfield said.
Forest & Bird in Wellington had heard about the leadership coup almost before he did himself, leading him to suspect the organisation was backing the move, he said.
Apart from the disruption to the council s work, the continued suspension posed a financial risk ultimately to ratepayers, O Connor said. If there are concerns, they need to be addressed but this is an untenable situation and needs to be sorted as soon as possible. An email shows the chief executive had spoken to the Department of Internal Affairs about his concerns over council delays in finalising the long-term plan, which features a 30 per cent rate rise.
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Chairman Allan Birchfield himself is now facing relegation, with a majority of four councillors backing the bid to remove him at a special meeting on May 31.