The workshop that wasn't - closed door QLDC parking briefing

Bosses at the Queenstown Lakes District Council are differentiating between informal briefing sessions for the mayor and councillors and workshops, with implications for which discussions take place in front of members of the public and media.

In February the council voted unanimously to open formerly closed door workshops to members of the public and media, but last week Crux was excluded from a briefing by staff to elected members on parking enforcement.

The reason, the presentation of a report and subsequent discussion was deemed to be an "informal session" and not a "formal workshop", according to a council spokesperson.

"The briefing itself was organised in response to Councillor (Craig) Ferguson’s request for a refresher on how we administer parking enforcement," the spokesperson says in response to questions from Crux.

"The report was shared to inform discussion at this informal session to which all councillors were invited. Some councillors accepted but there was no requirement for them to do so."

Crux is aware the mayor and councillors had originally been advised the content would be the first item of an afternoon workshop on Wednesday, but the spokesperson says this was a miscommunication.

"For convenience and efficiency, the session was arranged to take place immediately prior to a formal workshop. It was never intended to be part of the workshop agenda, and this was clarified with councillors prior to the meetings."

The council's guide for members of the public on meetings and workshops commits to "open and transparent decision making to enable more effective public participation and promote accountability".

"Formal meetings of council, its committees and the Wānaka-Upper Clutha Community Board are, by default, conducted in public, which means anyone can attend, participate, and understand why and how decisions are made by the elected members," the guide says.

"The same is true for informal workshops and briefings to elected members. From time to time, it may be necessary to exclude the public from a meeting, workshop, or briefing, for example in the case of an ongoing legal matter, but there must be robust reasons to do this and the reason should be made clear to the public."

Since February's resolution to open up workshops, the council has been notifying members of the public of upcoming workshop agendas in advance.

Minutes of workshops are kept, including details on who attended, and they are published on the council's website within a week.

The council has been in the spotlight over claims of overzealous parking enforcement, including a driver fined for 13 seconds spent waiting to complete a u-turn, a bread delivery driver ticketed at 4am, an Arrowtown food supplier copping $5,000 in fines in a matter of months, and a tour bus driver fined for stopping outside a crowded bus zone.

After a request for information, the council has provided Crux with a copy of the operational report on parking enforcement presented to elected members at the briefing - more on this coming.