|
|
|
|
AGENDA Late Reports Ordinary Council meeting Tuesday, 7 October 2025 |
|
|
|
|
|
Date: |
Tuesday, 7 October 2025 |
|
Time: |
9.30am |
|
Location: |
Tauranga City Council Chambers Level 1 - 90 Devonport Road Tauranga |
|
Please note that this meeting will be livestreamed and the recording will be publicly available on Tauranga City Council's website: www.tauranga.govt.nz. |
|
|
Marty Grenfell Chief Executive |
|
|
7 October 2025 |
Order of Business
11.1 Authorise International Air Travel for Mayor and two Councillors to Wollongong, Australia
|
7 October 2025 |
11 Business
11.1 Authorise International Air Travel for Mayor and two Councillors to Wollongong, Australia
File Number: A19029575
Author: Clare Sullivan, Senior Governance Advisor
Authoriser: Jeremy Boase, Head of Strategy, Governance & Climate Resilience
Purpose of the Report
1. The Mayor and Councillors Rolleston and Schuler are traveling to Wollongong, Australia and a resolution of Council is required to authorise the international air travel.
|
That the Council: (a) Receives the report "Authorise International Air Travel for Mayor and two Councillors to Wollongong, Australia". (b) Authorises the Mayor’s and Councillor’s Rolleston and Schuler international air travel of $12,879.11 (airfares $4,393.67 and accommodation $8,485.44) to Wollongong, Australia from 15 October 2025 to 20 October 2025.
|
Executive Summary
2. The Mayor and Councillors Rolleston and Schuler are travelling to Wollongong, Australia from 15 October to 20 October 2025 and a Council resolution to authorise the international air travel is required. This includes airfares of $4393.67 and accommodation of $8,485.44 for five nights in Wollongong.
Background
3. The purpose of the travel is two-fold: Shared Learnings – City Delivery; and Network and Connection – events. Wollongong is hosting the World Triathlon Championships in 2025.
4. Tauranga City Council and Wollongong City Council are creating a collaborative inter-Council relationship designed to share ideas, best practice and learnings between cities of comparable sizes, challenges and focus. Initial opportunities for Tauranga City Council to learn from Wollongong City Council include hosting major multi-sport events, student/mixed-use accommodation and university/education opportunities, public transport integration, and planning/development/growth challenges. As a port city facing high growth and extreme housing shortages, Wollongong has many similarities to Tauranga.
5. In advance of Tauranga delivering major triathlon events in Tauranga between 2026 and 2028, leading to the Triathlon World Championships in 2028, there is significant benefit in connecting through the Wollongong event with World Triathlon, political, and event industry leaders. Delegates will learn a lot from the Wollongong event, connecting and experiencing a world-class triathlon event of this scale. A focus of the trip will also be to review and consider how a cultural narrative can be weaved into events of this scale.
6. The cost of the Mayor’s and Councillors’ airfares and five nights’ accommodation are to be met by the Council.
Statutory Context
7. Clause 5.1.2 of the Elected Members Expenses and Resources Policy states that “International air travel paid for by council must be authorised by resolution of Council”.
8. Other expenses that may be claimed by the Mayor and Councillors on their trip to Wollongong are set out in Clause 5.4 of the Elected Members Expenses and Resources Policy and any claims made by the Mayor must be authorised by the Deputy Mayor and one other elected member (Clause 6.3) and these expense claims are made available on the Council’s website. Claims made by the Councillors must be authorised by the Mayor and Chief Executive (Clause 6.2).
Options Analysis
9. The Council has the option of authorising or not authorising the Mayor’s and Councillors international air travel to Wollongong.
10. The advantages of the Mayor and Councillors’ attending includes building a collaborative inter-Council relationship and learning about hosting an international event that will be of long-term benefit to Tauranga.
11. The disadvantages of the Mayor and Councillors’ attending are the cost of travel.
Financial Considerations
12. The expected cost is airfares of $4,393.67 and accommodation of $8,485.44 for five nights in Wollongong, a total of $12,879.11.
13. The Mayoral cost centre has budget provision to cover the cost of the airfares and accommodation to Australia, and any other expenses that may be incurred.
Legal Implications / Risks
14. There are no risks or legal implications associated with this decision.
Significance
15. The Local Government Act 2002 requires an assessment of the significance of matters, issues, proposals and decisions in this report against Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Council acknowledges that in some instances a matter, issue, proposal or decision may have a high degree of importance to individuals, groups, or agencies affected by the report.
16. In making this assessment, consideration has been given to the likely impact, and likely consequences for:
(a) the current and future social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the district or region
(b) any persons who are likely to be particularly affected by, or interested in, the decision.
(c) the capacity of the local authority to perform its role, and the financial and other costs of doing so.
17. In accordance with the considerations above, criteria and thresholds in the policy, it is considered that the decision is of low significance
ENGAGEMENT
18. Taking into consideration the above assessment, that the decision is of low significance, officers are of the opinion that no further engagement is required prior to Council making a decision.
Next Steps
19. The Mayor and Councillors Rolleston and Schuler travel to Wollongong, Australia in October.
