A Christchurch community leader has criticised Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour’s stance on removing well-being initiatives from local government.
In an interview with Chris Lynch Media, Seymour said well-being projects were important but should not be the responsibility of councils.
He argued that local government should focus on core services rather than social or cultural programmes.
“You know no one is against those things. That is not the point. The question is, is it the council’s job? Is it the council’s job to teach people how to cook?”
Seymour said he had heard from a charity running cooking classes in the community which found itself competing with a council library offering the same thing.
“Cooking is very important. It is just not the job of the council.”
But Hayley Guglietta, chairperson of the Richmond Community Garden and a long-time advocate for community-led development, said Seymour was wrong.
“What a load of bollocks,” she said.
“Community well-being is about understanding the needs of the community, and every community is different. Our community partnerships and governance teams at local councils work closely with community-based organisations to support us in this work.”
Guglietta said central government simply did not have the reach or systems to do what councils and grassroots organisations could.
“It costs bugger all. Community funding is a small percentage of the overall budget and gives the greatest return by far. Last Long Term Plan, I worked out the dollar-for-dollar return, and it was between $40 and $60 for every $1 of council funding we received for the groups I’m involved with.”
She added, “If I had confidence a government understood our communities and could distribute funding where it was needed, sure. But I don’t. The best we have is our relationships with our local community advisors who know and work really hard alongside our community organisations to deliver well-being initiatives for the people of this city.”
“No government organisation or council could deliver the work we do for the peanuts we get. Message me if you want real-life examples of successful community-led development in action. Tours even on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.”
Guglietta said she would be happy to be challenged on the figures she quoted and extended an invitation to Seymour for a personal tour.
“Given my potted history with our local council, this is a big statement for me to make,” she said.
