First term councillor Matt Wong says that the financial hit on the Queenstown Lakes District Council from the recent leaky building settlement has been enough to “wipe us out”.
In an interview with Crux, as part of a new podcast series, Councillor Wong says the worst day so far for him was the day of the Oaks Shores apartments settlement. The terms are confidential, but Councillor Wong says it’s cost ratepayers more than $100 million.
Councillor Wong expressed concern that QLDC spending has not adapted sufficiently to this very high level of debt and also that elected members are not able to effectively communicate with senior council executives.
“When elected members come in, there's actually zero support mechanism for us to go through the system, to learn how to how to be the most effective and the most efficient with our time and their energy.
“And so we're left in this sort of quagmire. You’ve got elected members on one side and the Executive Leadership Team, the council CEO and the middle management on the other side, and never shall they meet.
Episode 4. Matt Wong - full interview