The Star: July 18, 2019

Councillors may get childcare paid for
• By Louis Day
RATEPAYER MONEY could
be used to pay for the childcare
of councillors and community
board members.
This comes after a new
policy from the Remuneration
Authority was released at the
start of this month which allows
councils to reimburse elected
members for childcare.
If adopted by a council,
members are
eligible to an
allowance
only if their
child is under
14 and the
childcare is not
provided by a
family member.
Deon Swiggs
Childcare
allowances are
also limited to $6000 a year per
child.
City council secretary Jo Daly
said it would consider adopting
the policy before September.
City councillor Deon Swiggs
thought the policy would be well
supported.
“I would expect our council
to support it and I will be
supporting it myself, not
necessarily for councillors but
for community board members.
It just takes away a bit of a
barrier for people with families,”
he said.
Cr Swiggs did not expect the
policy to lead to a rates increases
should it be adopted.
“I would not expect it to
come from any new money
from rates, I would expect this
to be absorbed from other
funds.”
“We have a catering budget,
news online at www.star.kiwi
do we need a catering budget?
Those are the things I would like
to look at.”
Cr Aaron Keown, who has
three children of his own,
thought city councillors were
earning enough to pay for their
own childcare and community
board members did not need it
due to it being a part-time role.
Councillors are paid $102,400
whereas the pay of community
board members varies between
$9864 and $24,580, chairs of
community boards are paid up
to $49,160.
Cr Keown said it was not
needed in Christchurch but
could be in lower-paid councils
across the country.
Cr Sara Templeton said she
would vote in favour of the
policy and saw it as a small step
to increasing diversity around
the decision table.
Cr Mike Davidson said he was
“open-minded to it.”
The Selwyn District Council
adopted the policy last week.
Deputy Mayor Malcolm Lyall
said he believed the policy would
ruffle feathers and result in
backlash from the community.
“There’s always going to be
someone saying, what are they
[the district council] doing? It’s
just a part of the job and I’m just
keen to get more young people
around the table and that is what
this is about,” he said.
•HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you
think city councillors and
community board members
should be reimbursed for
their childcare costs using
ratepayer money? Email
your views to louis.day@
starmedia.kiwi
Thursday July 18 2019 The Star
NEWS 7
in brief
Bail declined after
allegedly killing dog
A man has been charged after
he allegedly stabbed and killed a
dog on Tuesday. Neil Harrison,
54, appeared in the district court
yesterday and was declined
bail. He faces charges of
wilfully ill-treating an animal,
threatening to kill, threatening
to damage property with intent
to frighten and three drug
offences relating to cannabis and
methamphetamine. It is alleged
the Spreydon man stabbed
the dog in the neck. He is next
expected to appear in court on
July 30.
Tear gas used to arrest
high risk offender
An armed police operation
which shut off a busy Spreydon
street yesterday was due to a
high risk offender breaking
electronically-monitored bail.
The offender was on EM bail
for a charge of unlawfully
possessing a firearm. Strickland
St was shut off for about three
hours from 9am. Police used
eight canisters of tear gas or
flashbang grenades at the
property. A 28-year-old man
was arrested and is expected
to appear in the district court
tomorrow on two charges of
breaching bail.
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