Unelected commissioners need to learn their place

Responding to an interview from Anne Tolley on Newstalk ZB this morning, where the Tauranga City Council Commission Chair warned against going back to elected councillors as it would bring back the “old guard” and make the city go “backwards”, Alex Murphy, Spokesman for the Taxpayers' Union, said:

“It’s no surprise that an unelected official with the ability to make massively influential decisions doesn’t want there to be another election, but to suggest that Tauranga ratepayers would be better off without elected councillors is an absolute disgrace.

“Ratepayers have had to put up with over three years of unelected bureaucrats managing their money without any way of voting them out. This isn’t about whether the commissioners are doing a better job than their dysfunctional elected predecessors, this is about ensuring that democracy is upheld, and the people of Tauranga get their rightful say.

“If Anne Tolley and the other commissioners believe they are running the city well, they should stand for election and put their case to the voters rather than trampling over local democracy.”