Former councillor calls for QLDC to be put under statutory management

Former QLDC councillor Neville Harris is calling for the Queenstown Lakes District Council to be put under statutory management.

Mr Harris served 12 years on the Wānaka Community Board and two terms as a QLDC councillor.

He told Crux today that the current elected councillors were being excluded from decisions being made by QLDC CEO Mike Theelen. 

"I've known many of the current councillors for a number of years and have also been speaking with the new councillors. They ask questions, but they never get an answer. I think the mayor and the CEO are in cahoots and work too closely. They're too close."

Mr Harris told Crux that he believed both Mr Theelen and planning manager Tony Avery had both come to Queenstown after experiencing significant problems during their respective times at the Christchurch and Dunedin City Councils. Mr Harris told Crux that journalists need to do more research on the backgrounds of the two QLDC senior council managers but declined to provide more details. 

Former Christchurch High Court judge Sir John Hansen, was highly critical in 2015 of Mike Theelen (then the Christchurch council's chief planning officer), when criticising his work.

After blasting the Christchurch council's work on a new manual of planning regulations for multiple reasons – vague, wordy, ineffective – Sir John Hansen went much further in singling out Theelen personally, saying he seemed surprisingly ill-informed about the draft's contents given he was meant to be in charge.

Mr Theelen subsequently left the Christchurch City Council later in 2015 and got the CEO job at QLDC in January 2016. At the time Mayor Vanessa van Uden said Mr Theelen was a highly experienced generalist with the necessary attributes and skillset for the Queenstown Lakes District.

Here's the full version of the letter that Mr Harris has shared with both the Otago Daily Times and Crux. Links to Crux coverage of these issues are included at the end of this article.

"It is with great concern that the ratepayers of the QLDC are footing the bill for many poor decisions made by senior management of council, with respect to poor scoping and budgeting of major projects.

"These include Lakeview in Queenstown, on part of the site of the previous camping ground.

"Council are looking to have payback as the project proceeds and it is quite clear to date that this may never eventuate, when in fact the site could have been sold for millions of dollars.

"I understand council has spent many millions of dollars preparing the site which was unforeseen when the present deal was signed.

"The shortcut road to "nowhere" has been a disaster cost-wise and has still to be completed.

"The Walker property purchased on the Ladies Mile is another example of poor decision making, with the home on the property at present being demolished because of being leaky. If this was known at time of purchase those responsible should be held to account.

"The latest pet project is the proposed Manawa project, partly for new council offices.

"As reported in ODT the senior management team have been asked to report back to councillors with the correct report as presented by the hearings panel.

"I live in Wānaka and I have highlighted Queenstown projects which affect all ratepayers, but similar projects are also happening in Wānaka, the latest being the shambles at the Caltex corner.

"Speaking with many of the first-term councillors they feel they are being completely shut out by senior management when they ask questions on these matters.

"Perhaps it is time for an overhaul of senior management. When council has increased its debt by about $100 million over the last 12 months something must be wrong.

"Perhaps it is time to have the government step in and put QLDC into statutory management before it is too late."