The ombudsman’s call to open council workshops is a 'hard nut to crack' a Western Bay councillor says.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council closed all its workshops to the public for the period July 1, 2022 to November 20, 2023.

Councillor Rodney Joyce says he doesn’t like workshops and they are used "way too much".

"The ombudsman is trying to crack a hard nut."

The council had started putting workshop minutes into meeting agendas for people to see, says Joyce.

“We're on the right path now, towards more openness.”

However, there were still some detailed matters that needed to be “thrashed out” in private, he says.

In October, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier reprimanded councils for closing workshops by default - a practice he called "unreasonable".

Boshier called for councils to open workshops to reduce the perception that decisions were being made behind closed doors.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council held 18 closed workshops between July 1 and November 20, and another 25 for the year ending June 2023.

Council Governance Manager Greer Golding says there were no workshops held in public.

Asked if any of the minutes or notes from workshops had been made public, Golding replied none.

“It is council’s intention going forward to include workshop notes on subsequent committee agendas.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce said the council workshops "way too much". Photo: Alisha Evans/SunLive.

Joyce says all the councillors were very clear about the no decisions to be made in workshops rule.

The council needed to take the public along with them in the decision making process and workshops didn’t do that, he says.

Councillor Anne Henry agrees: “Workshops have their place, but I do believe we need to be showing the process of our decision making through our meetings.”

There needed to be a balance between transparent decision making and time for the councillors to nut out some of the harder issues, she says.

The public could also be brutal, Henry says.

“The public need to really realise if they want to have good politicians, they need to not be so brutal and give the people the opportunity to talk through the issues.”

Mayor James Denyer says Boshier’s review was “surprisingly” wide ranging and went further than most expected.

There were cost implications if all of the recommendations were adopted, with more staff likely required, says Denyer.

“We’re happy to move towards being more open and transparent. But where that finally lands and what is actually being asked for is a little bit unclear at the moment.”

Mayor James Denyer said councillors can behave differently when they're being observed by the public. Photo: John Borren/SunLive.

Denyer says it would be possible to open up some workshops to the public but some issues were commercially sensitive or involved privacy issues.

Elected members could also behave differently when they were being observed publicly, says Denyer.

“Sometimes you get more speeches and a less free flowing discussion.

“Having an ability to speak freely is a valuable one.”

Councillor Don Thwaites says more could be done in the open.

“That would be a good thing, I believe, because it would actually help everyone's understanding of the matter.

“If there's more research needed, or the facts aren't fully there, that's when they tend to be directed towards workshops.”

Asked if he thought long-term and annual plan workshops could be held in the open like Tauranga City Council had done, Thwaites says it would be a good idea.

“[It would] bring people up to date on the pressures that exist.”

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