Kawerau pulls funding from Toi-EDA

Diane McCarthy

Kawerau District Council has voted to pull funding from Eastern Bay of Plenty economic development agency Toi-EDA.

The council had budgeted $25,000 for the agency, in its current annual plan, of which it has already paid $6250.

The remaining funding would be redirected to the council’s in-house economic development budget.

The agency was formed by Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne district councils, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa in 2005.

The council delivered written notice to the Toi-EDA board on August 15 that it intended to withdraw funding to the agency and return its economic development function in-house.

It cited several reasons for doing so, including the board’s failure to formalise tangata whenua representation for Ngāti Tūwharetoa despite a request from the council to do so in November 2022.

Difficulty in justifying continued investment during the cost-of-living crisis ratepayers were experiencing, declining service levels and an uncertain strategy were reasons given.

Mayor Faylene Tunui reiterated assurances that were sought about spending by submitters to its recent annual plan consultation.

One submitter had asked, “is it necessary? Is it necessary now?

“What does that return give for Kawerau?”

“Those were the major points that came out of the annual plan submissions.

“From the discussion that we’ve had with the governance of Toi-EDA and other colleague councils, it was difficult to articulate what the benefits were.”

Mrs Tunui pointed as an example to a report from the Mayors Taskforce For Jobs, which showed 84 employment placements had been made in the past year, saying it was much easier to see what these benefits were.

Chief executive Morgan Godfery said feedback he received during a meeting with the board of industry advocacy organisation, Industrial Symbiosis Kawerau, was a desire that local economic development relationships be held locally.

Mr Godfery said the council would remain a settlor to the trust deed, which would preserve the option for the council to redirect funding back to the agency in the future.

The council would still participate in the consultation and development of the Eastern Bay of Plenty Economic Development Strategy “on the principle that the ratepayers of Kawerau have already paid for that strategy”.

He said Ōpōtiki District Council had also indicated in its Long-term Plan 2024-2034 that it would not be funding the trust.

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