Ratepayers' Alliance welcomes move to abolish IMSB

The Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance is welcoming the announcement by New Zealand First that it will campaign to abolish the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB).

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

"The IMSB is unelected and unaccountable to anyone, yet it wields considerable power. We have previously called for the Government to strip the IMSB of voting rights on council committees."

“But the time has come to get rid of the IMSB altogether."

“Auckland Council should be governed by representatives who are elected by, and accountable to, Aucklanders. There is no place in local government for a body with special statutory privileges that ratepayers have no ability to vote for or remove."

"The Independent Māori Statutory Board was established as a temporary political compromise during the formation of the Auckland Super City. More than 15 years later, it has become an entrenched layer of bureaucracy that undermines democratic accountability."

"Local democracy works best when governors are directly answerable to the public. Abolishing the IMSB would be a step toward restoring that principle."