Whanganui District Council will establish a $30,000 citizens’ assembly of 40 randomly selected volunteers.
The assembly – the council’s first – will be tasked with making a recommendations to the council on the district’s outdoor swimming facilities and the future of Whanganui East Pool.
Citizens’ assemblies originated in ancient Greece and are commonly used in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia to help navigate tricky and divisive topics.
Forty randomly selected residents representative of Whanganui district’s demographics will meet for up to five three-hour sessions facilitated by an independent expert.
To ensure anyone can participate, assembly members will be paid $500 each for their time.
Mayor Andrew Tripe said forming a citizens’ assembly was “taking council to the people” and part of the council’s efforts to be more responsive to the community.
The concept of a citizens’ assembly was being explored as an additional approach to empowering the community on decisions that matter to all, Tripe said.
“Let’s take it back to the community, let’s try something different.”
Chief executive David Langford said a citizens’ assembly would involve residents more directly in council decision-making.
“Around the world, citizens’ assemblies have been shown to be a successful means of making decisions on topics that matter to communities.
“The key to the success of this formula is it brings together a diverse range of people and gives them the opportunity to spend time delving into the complexities of an issue.”
Langford said international case studies showed that running this type of participatory process enhanced the reputations and citizens’ trust in local authorities.
“They work particularly well at a local government level to debate tricky topics or for matters that require a suitable middle-ground to be found,” Langford said.
The goal is quality of engagement over quantity, Langford told councillors at their meeting on Thursday.
“If you want lots of participation, run a referendum, but the quality will probably be low because people will make relatively quickfire decisions.
“This process allows people to really understand the issue, ask questions and make an informed decision about what they want.”
The group will be facilitated by an independent facilitator, hear specialist advice and consider options put forward in a study commissioned by the council on outdoor swimming in Whanganui.
“As most people will know, during last year’s annual plan process we proposed to close Whanganui East Pool because of upcoming capital and operating costs,” Langford said.
“Community feedback we heard at that point strongly signalled that Whanganui East Pool and outdoor swimming in general is really valued so, in response, elected members decided to keep the Whanganui East Pool open for another season and commission a study on the future of our outdoor swimming facilities.”
That study, which is nearly complete, has assessed the availability and demand for outdoor swimming in the district and will identify a range of options.
Normally, council officers would assess the options and identify a preferred option to bring to council for discussion before any community consultation.
Langford said previous consultation on the Whanganui East pool through the long-term plan consultation was “quite divisive”.
The assembly will develop a recommendation on behalf of the community which sets out its thoughts on the future of Whanganui’s outdoor swimming facilities.
This recommendation will be presented to elected representatives during the council’s annual plan decision-making period this year.
The council will put a call out for volunteers to register their interest in participating in the assembly. Forty people will then be selected by lottery to form the assembly.
To represent a cross-section of the community, the selection will attempt to broadly match the following community demographics:
- Gender – 48% male, 51% female and 1% other
- Ethnicity – 26.3% Māori, 79.2% European, 3.6% Pacifika; 4.1% Asian and 1.7% other
- Age – 22% 65 years and over, 58% 15-65 years, 20% under 15
- Geographic location – 15% Whanganui East, 85% spread over rest of the district.
Councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan said a citizens’ assembly was a great idea but was a step too far at this time and for the outdoor swimming project.
She proposed an alternative – a working party of five elected members and five community members, including two from Whanganui East, with a drastically reduced budget of $2000, including $200 for each community member.
Baker-Hogan’s proposal failed to gain majority support from councillors.
Councillor Charlotte Melser said a citizens’ assembly would allow the community to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of local government decision-making.
“[It will] empower our community to come on board in a valuable way to inform us of what is important to our community and why.”
Councillor Glenda Brown said it was an exciting opportunity.
“The community feel like we don’t listen to them much of the time. This is an example of democratic leadership.”
During last year’s annual plan, $2m of capital funding was allocated to implement the eventual decision on outdoor swimming in Whanganui.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
