Local Government Minister Rodney Hide is continuing to champion a requirement for councils to produce pre-election statements of account.
In a speech to a Citizens Advocacy Tauranga organised meeting at the Bureta Park Motor Inn, Rodney said pre-election fiscal updates, ‘prefu', gave ratepayers a means of comparing councils' fiscal performance.


Local government Minister Rodney Hide in Tauranga.

'If ratepayers' wishes are to be properly reflected in decision making, ratepayers must be informed of the issues and options facing their councils and to understand what this means to them,” says Rodney.
'Groups like CAT play a very important role here,” says Rodney.
'You can use your knowledge and status to scrutinise council activity and advocate for ratepayers.”
The ‘prefu' will strengthen local democracy by providing a context for individual candidates or groups to identify their views on issues, and to contribute to a more informed voting choice.
Rodney says officials are also looking at ways to include polls with local elections or even of holding separate referenda on particular local body issues.
'If we are serious about putting more democracy into local government, then we need to seriously look at using referenda,” says Rodney.
Ratepayers and citizens only get an opportunity to exercise real democratic power every three years at the time of the local body elections.
'And that is often too late if significant and costly decisions have already been made,” says Rodney.
He commended CAT, saying he is impressed by CAT's recent efforts in getting the Tauranga City Council to agree to devise a standard average rate calculation.
'I also commend your work on surveying Tauranga people on what would be an acceptable rate rise.
'That's great stuff – good on you.”
Roger Douglas was in the audience at yesterday afternoon's meeting.