First term Tauranga City councillor Tony Christiansen is rejecting claims his meeting attendance record is a true measure of the effort he puts into his role.

Tony fares worst in figures released by Tauranga City Council showing elected members' attendance records from October 2010 to August 2013.

Tony Christiansen has the highest record of absences of Tauranga City elected members in the last three years.

The figures do not include attendance at project steering groups, task force meetings, public meetings or functions.

Tony is shown to have missed 34 meetings – the highest record of absence, with Mayor Stuart Crosby coming in second with 11 absences during the three year term.

Tony attributes his absences to international speaking engagements, illness, and family commitments.

'I've got elderly parents and my mum's got dementia. I spend a bit of time with her when she goes to the doctor, for example. I can't always change doctor's appointments at the hospital.

'I'm the only one that can actually look after her. She gets quite abusive to the staff. She's tiny but at 84 years old she's got a temper on her. She comes out with words that embarrass me at times.”

Tony is a double amputee and travels across the world delivering inspirational speeches. He tries to make sure speaking engagements do not clash with council or committee meetings, but has had two flights cancel on him this year, he says.

'In the normal scheme of things everything would be fine and I would be there the next day, and I'm stuck siting in a hotel because of something else, and that's just the way life is.

'I just hope the ratepayers of Tauranga City accept that. I believe that what I do gives me a good balance in life.

'I go and talk to 10,000 people then the next minute I come home to the Council Chambers where it looks like somebody's turned the lights off because they are all talking about reasons why they shouldn't do something, rather than having a can-do attitude and saying we should be doing it. And that frustrates me.”

Tony is on eight different council task forces and sub-committees, including the Marine Precinct, the Greerton Library, the Waterfront Development, and the CBD Hotel Committee. He is also on the Development Task Force and chairs the Tree Sub-Committee.

'I think I'm the dumb one here. Being the new first-time councillor I'm like the new kid on the block and I'm running round going ‘Yeah I'll do that', and ‘I'll do that'.

'All people talk about is how many of the main council meetings you have been to. Hopefully the ratepayers of the city can see that it's not all about just those meetings that they do a roll call for.

'It's all of the sub committees and things that I have been a part of. They don't get accounted for. Nobody says how many of those do you attend – because I would be 200 per cent on all the others – apart from Larry and Terry.

'Just because you don't make all the meetings doesn't mean you aren't doing your part. Maybe I'm the dumb one. Maybe I should say ‘bugger it' and do the bare minimum like 60-70 per cent of the rest of the councillors. I wouldn't be happy doing that.”

Tony has not missed a submissions meeting yet, and he says he did not miss any of the annual plan and 10 year plan meetings.

'The sad thing is I actually enjoy the submission process, you actually get to honestly listen. I wish we had more of it, the community involvement and the community decision making.”

He hopes for another term next year where he can 'really get my teeth into it”.

The information provided by Tauranga City Council is based on formal meetings of Council and its committees/sub-committees, where minutes are taken.

Figures show most councillors missed 10 or less meetings during the three years.

Tony put in apologies for 17, obtained a leave of absence for 16 and missed one. Tony's meeting attendance percentage is 85 per cent, and he attended 196 of 230 meetings he was expected to attend.

The best attendance record is deputy mayor David Stewart's, who missed four city council or committee meetings in three years.

David attended 240 of 244 achieving a 98 per cent attendance record equalled only by Terry Molly. Terry attended 249 of 254 meetings, putting in apologies for missing five.

Rick Curach missed six meetings, Bill Grainger, seven. Rick was granted leave of absence for five, and attended, 223 of 229 meetings.

Rick and Bill share a 97 per cent attendance. Bill put in three apologies, missed one meeting because of other council business and had two leaves of absence.

Bill Faulkner, Wayne Moultrie, and Catherine Stewart each missed nine meetings over three years, and all share 96 per cent records. Bill attended 245 of 254 of his allotted appearances, with four apologies and four leaves of absence.

Wayne attended 227 of 236 meetings, put in seven apologies and one absence on other council business. Catherine attended 229 of 238 meetings. She made five apologies and had four leaves of absence.

Murray Guy missed 10 meetings, attending 222 of 232, and put in nine apologies for his absences. He also has a 96 per cent attendance.

Larry Baldock also missed 10 meetings, but has a 96 per cent record, attending 245 of 255 meetings. Larry put in four apologies, one for missing a meeting on other council business and had five leaves of absence

Mayor Stuart Crosby missed 11 meetings; with five apologies, and four meetings missed while on other council business, and also has a 96 per cent attendance.

Six councillors skipped one meeting each without offering an apology, or arranging a leave of absence, or being on other council business.

They are Tony Christiansen, Rick Curach, Bill Faulkner, Bill Grainger, Murray Guy, and David Stewart.