Councillor says decision on rubbish needed before election

BY EVAN HARDING

The Invercargill City Council must make a decision on its rubbish collection service at this month's council meeting or it will have failed the city's residents, a councillor says.

Cr Graham Sycamore was overseas when the latest debacle surrounding solid waste management in Invercargill unfolded. He said he found it unbelievable that the council had voted in a split decision to proceed with a two-bin option without knowing the costs.

The decision was this week revoked by the council following legal advice, as had been forewarned may happen by several other councillors and senior council staff at the meeting.

It was now important the council made a definitive rubbish collection service decision at its September 14 meeting – its last meeting before the October 9 local body elections, Cr Sycamore said.

"I believe if we don't make a decision it's a cop-out. It's not right for us to leave it to a new council to decide, if that happens the process will have to be started again."

The city council had gone through a long process of consulting with the public and it was elected to make decisions, he said.

He understood the council would be making a decision, saying if it couldn't it would have failed the city.

The council's two-bin decision, which was revoked, was that householders would retain their 120L wheelie bins, which would be collected at the gate once a week, while the crates being used would be replaced by 240L recycling bins, which would be collected at the gate once a fortnight.

The Southland Times yesterday asked council chief executive Richard King for details of the legal advice the council was given in relation to its decision being revoked. Mr King declined to release the information on the grounds of protecting legal privilege.

The Southland Times believes the public has a right to know all the facts prior to the October 9 election and has urgently appealed Mr King's decision to the Ombudsman.

Meanwhile, Cr Peter Kett yesterday said he had not voted for the two-bin system last month, as The Southland Times reported.

"As far as I was concerned I was voting for the two-bin system to be costed.

"But there was so much confusion amongst everyone I probably got tied up in the confusion as well."

The council's minutes show Cr Kett voted against the 120L rubbish bin being collected every week; and he voted in favour of the council seeking tenders for a household recycling collection service for Invercargill and Bluff, including costs for the 240L recycling bins to be collected fortnightly.

- © Fairfax NZ News