1 July 2025

Council is currently advancing a major update to the 2009 Joint Management Agreement (JMA) with Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Unlike the original—which followed months of public hui and consultation—this new version is being pushed forward with minimal public engagement and limited debate.

I’ve formally raised six key governance concerns, including:

• Expanded jurisdictional scope,
• Treaty-framed governance language,
• Absence of public accountability mechanisms,
• Undefined financial exposure.

These are not minor updates—they represent 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 in how decisions may be shaped in our district.

In response, I’ve written to Hobson’s Pledge to seek independent scrutiny. I have also now forwarded that letter to the CEO and elected members. For full transparency, my letter can be read here

This isn’t about opposing change—it’s about insisting on process integrity. Our community deserves visibility, debate, and accountability. I think it should go out for public feedback before we sign up to anything, but this is not the trajectory we are currently headed.

A public workshop is scheduled for 𝟏𝟏𝐚𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟑 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲. If you care about how governance evolves in Taupō, now is the time to engage.  And you may wish to talk to your elected members as well.

25 June 2025

“𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆.”

That’s what I found myself saying after yesterday’s Taupō District Council “deliberations” on the most consequential decision in decades: the governance of our water infrastructure.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬.

Just a preloaded script rammed through in 20 minutes flat.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭? 𝐂𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐝–𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝.

𝐀 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝.

Why? Because I challenged the “preferred option” — a pre-baked conclusion that had already been quietly decided behind closed doors.

Let me be clear: I wasn’t pushing ideology. I was simply proposing that the Option 3 alternate governance model—an independent, accountable, tightly-designed Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) — could bring real transparency and public oversight. But the very act of suggesting that staff-led processes are obscuring real governance, was enough to get me cut off by Chairperson Mayor David Trewavas and his Deputy watchdog Kevin Taylor.

This wasn’t a meeting, a debate or even a discussion – this was a 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘦.

Democracy isn’t just voting every few years. It’s the ability 𝘵𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 without being silenced when the truth gets uncomfortable.

𝐈‘𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲: I’m working at a table where stupidity is not a glitch in the system — it 𝘪𝘴 the system, aided and abetted by the people you elect to govern. Not all of them and not all of the time – but enough of them enough of the time, to make real accountability impossible.

If this enrages you – 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 – because it should.

𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫.

Read the full statement they didn’t let me deliver: https://duncandoestaupo.com/lean-clean-taupo-a-cco-with-teeth/

Watch the public meeting here (jump to 17:38): https://youtu.be/oPjCTU0uODc?si=7KB-wsJuTNSOT9Zj&t=1058

24 June 2025

In the next month or so I’ll be contributing to a powerful new series on how local government really works—hosted by investigative writer Jordan Kelly at The Customer & The Constituent. We’ll be lifting the lid on how bureaucracy shields itself from accountability—and what you can do about it. So watch this space, and for a taster read this article here

23 June 2025

On Tuesday 17 June, I spoke alongside fellow Let’s Go Taupō candidates 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 and 𝗔𝗻𝗻 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲 at Acacia Bay Community Hall. 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 also joined us with a solid contribution, and 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗺 kept the evening on track as MC.

We had a good turnout with around 30 or so people who listened, asked thoughtful questions, and most of all—they engaged.

My talk was about how I see Taupō District Council really works behind the scenes, and it’s not very pretty. I see rates keep going up not by accident, but because 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁. Reports get buried, decisions are effectively made before the public meetings even happen, and anyone who asks questions or challenges a narrative is a problem to be shut down.

That’s not how democracy is meant to work, and I don’t believe the public is okay with it.

Here are the full talks – Duncan C (7:00) Rebecca S (31:15) Hope W (43:20) Ann T (50:20) and Pete W (1:03:50): here

My own transcript: here

I endorse Hope, Rebecca, and Ann because they also want to challenge the dysfunction we are all feeling. Their message says it well: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. And Pete also looks like he isn’t messing about either.

So let’s make sure this election is a turning point – the 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 that needs to happen.

Facebook: here

11 June 2025

I encourage people to sign this petition of the Taxpayers Union, and I notice Boom Boom made it as one of their examples of why we need to cap rates. See: https://www.capratesnow.nz/

10 June 2025

This past week, Taupō District Council held a “Risk Appetite” workshop. I did not attend.

Not because I don’t value risk management—quite the opposite. But I value my time too much to sit through what looked like a governance theatre of perception, and not the real thing.

The session wasn’t recorded, so there was no audio or minutes or public visibility—just private talk about public risk, minus the public accountability.

And yet, one of the stated pillars of a healthy risk management culture? “𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲”.

That’s one thing this Council has yet to grasp, as I hope some of you will recognise from my past posts.

So I declined to attend, to lend any sort of silent legitimacy to a closed-door performance costumed in the language of integrity. That would just be propaganda, wouldn’t it?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1VXURUWNRX/

3 June 2025

Councillor Duncan of Taupo District Council reporting, this time on a few recent Council happenings which you may be interested in hearing about.

Item 5.2 of the last Tuesday Council meeting 27 May was for the adoption of a Freedom of Expression Policy (refer https://youtu.be/3G1FF75poso?si=hTYbfU3yjqWfwY8M&t=410 )

My response to it:

“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰-𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥.  𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳—𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳— 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.  𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦.  𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘺”.

On that same day we also held a confidential workshop entitled “Development of a Joint Management Agreement (JMA) with Tuwharetoa Trust Board”.  For not-so-obvious reasons I am unable to divulge too much about the contents of that meeting, except to say that my impression has not changed from when it was first tabled as Item 5.4 of the Council meeting on 24 September 2024 (see: https://youtu.be/vFVaXHrneNo?si=o0SXo8mkjizEVBjK&t=2365 ).  This JMA doesn’t seem to serve much of a constructive purpose for Taupo constituents that I can tell, and it is hard to shake a perception that this is not some kind of surreptitious attempt at Co-governance.  Further information can be found here:  https://www.environmentguide.org.nz/rma/maori-and-the-rma/

Lastly, at another workshop on 22 May, myself & Councillor Greenslade advocated for free entry for 16 yrs & under to the Turangi Pools.  My guesstimate is that it will not make one jot of difference to anything or anybody else, but it will take a majority vote from other elected members to make it happen of whom none displayed much enthusiasm. See: https://youtu.be/vtomTSYbk9k?si=h7loafjuuara70aA&t=644

Council meeting & agendas can be found here: https://www.taupodc.govt.nz/council/meetings/meeting-agendas-and-minutes

2 June 2025

From the 7 min mark of this Rotorua Lakes Council (RLC) meeting on 28 May, is the part where elected members have opportunity to mention any items of interest not on the meeting agenda. For this to happen at a Taupo District Council meeting, a Notice of Motion (NoM) has to be submitted in writing five days prior, and subject to agreement by another elected member first.

Also note the NoM immediately afterwards by Rotorua Cr O’Brien. Apart from the half dozen NoM’s of my own, there has not been a single NoM by any another elected member all of this term (except for the NoM by Cr Loughlin last October to amend Standing Orders and squash opportunity for dissent).

I hope this puts into some context the state of your local democracy under its current oppressive regime.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FoPMHq38S/

26 May 2025

Councillor Duncan of Taupo ward here, reporting to you on my short take of last Thursdays workshop. A fuller summary of this topic is to be found here.

𝟏. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚

“This is just a workshop.”

That line was used like a spell to ward off scrutiny—as if $300,000 in consultant fees doesn’t warrant any questions or need to have come up with a clear way forward.

When I asked why 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭 was excluded from the steering group or even having any opportunity to contribute, I got:

• “You weren’t blocked” (𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴).

• “There was a vote” (𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵).

• “This isn’t the forum for grievances” (𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦).

When I raised alternatives like:

• tidal flow lanes,

• public transport modeling,

• emergency Bailey Bridge contingencies…

…I was shut down, reframed, or scolded for “derailing the meeting”.

𝟐. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧’ 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐬

Here’s the script being sold:

Growth is inevitable. One bridge is failing. A second bridge is the only fix. Trust the experts (𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘯).

What wasn’t done:

• No structural assessment of the current bridge (even though we need to keep it going anyway – so are we going to have to pay for 𝘵𝘸𝘰 new bridges not just one?)

• No serious public transport scenarios

• No evaluation of a three-lane tidal-flow option with a direct Waikato St link

• No stated clarity on Mercury’s actual intentions with the control gates

• No proposed public input until 2027

• And still no reason given why consultant reports weren’t or still can’t be released ten months after their completion.

So what did we really get for the $300K spent to date? Not very much is all I can tell, except the necessary excuse to increase Development Contribution fees.

And contrary to assertions – Yes, this “non-decision-making workshop” only happened because I 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 it to happen via a Notice of Motion nearly one year ago.

𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆. 𝑨 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑. 𝑨 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.

Just don’t call it transparency.

Quote for today and it’s from me: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰—𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴”.

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Watch the full meeting here:

21 May 2025

In a vote taken where I was the only dissenter, the Taupō Reserves and Roading Committee yesterday (Item 5.4, 20 May meeting) approved the removal of three mature silver birch trees from the Tapuaeharuru lakefront cliffs.

I voted 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 this, and here’s why:

While the erosion of the cliff is real, we were 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. If we are to trade away decades-old trees—public assets—we should at least be able to explain how much it would have cost to save them. We weren’t and we can’t, so that to me was insufficient grounds to proceed with the undue urgency I felt we were being pressed into.

Are there any tree huggers in Taupō? I’m not one myself, but suspect that if this were happening in Auckland we’d be hearing about it and loudly. If not, that’s okay. Move along, nothing to see here.

Watch the meeting from 33:46 here

Meeting agenda and minutes here

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