Christchurch council rejects all 37 external CEO applicants, including Mike Theelen

Christchurch City Council Interim Chief Executive Mary Richardson has been appointed into the role until 30 June 2026. She insisted on a $100,000 pay cut as a condition of accepting the role.

Mayor Phil Mauger says there were 37 applicants for the Chief Executive position and a shortlist of three were interviewed by the Mayor and Councillors. Crux understands that Queenstown Lakes District Council Mike Theelen was one of the applicants - with Mr Theelen refusing to confirm or deny this.

Mike Theelen has just been awarded a 15.5% pay increase, based on secret performance indicators, taking his salary to $479,000. Mary Richardson at the Christchurch Council will now be on $450,000 a year.

In a media statement the Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger said:

“The interview panel didn’t make an appointment at the end of the process and we asked Mary if she would consider putting in an application for the role.

“She agreed to do so with the proviso that she didn’t want the role for the five-year term.

“Mary knows our communities and local government inside out.  The Councillors and I are looking forward to continuing to work with her through the next local body elections and to the end of the financial year in 2026."

Ms Richardson has worked at Christchurch City Council in a number of roles and most recently was General Manager of Citizens and Community for 10 years before stepping in as Interim Chief Executive in November 2023.

Christchurch NewstalkZB presenter John McDonald published the following analysis piece on the move:

"The acting chief executive at Christchurch City Council has shown outstanding leadership, not just outstanding leadership - she’s also shown outstanding political nous with this $100,000 pay cut.

"She demanded it because of the financial pressures the council and ratepayers are dealing with, which I believe has gone down very well with staff. Not just because of that, but also because, generally people at the council like her, which is quite an achievement for someone working in senior management anywhere.

"Time-and-time again, the Prime Minister and the Local Government Minister have said councils need to look and learn from what’s been happening in government departments and agencies. Councils need to do the same and live within their means.

"Mary Richardson has obviously heard that, then she’s put a stake in the ground starting with what she herself gets paid as head honcho. It’s not an act of goodwill, it’s a statement of intent, a statement much more powerful than any new vision and mission statements that might have been trotted out by the 37 people who thought they should be chief executive.

"By insisting on a $100,000 pay cut, Mary Richardson has signalled a period of austerity at the Christchurch City Council. If she has any of her people coming to her between now and mid-2026 saying they want to pay their staff more, what do you think her attitude is going to be? When the chief executive takes a $100,000 pay cut, what does that say to the rest of the organization? It says forget about pay rises.

"When Mary Richardson has people saying they can’t do things any differently or more cheaply because it’s all been tried before - she has given herself license to demand that they try again. That’s what happens when the person at the top takes a $100,000 pay cut.

"When someone says they need more staff - No sorry, that’s what happens when the person at the top takes a $100,000 pay cut. When the person at the top takes a $100,000 pay cut explicitly because the council and ratepayers are under financial pressures, that makes it very clear that you and I can’t just keep on demanding more of this and more of that from the council."