Auckland Independent Māori Statutory Boards : Role and Functions of the Selection Body
Table of contents
Information About the Board
The Board is an independent statutory body; it has its own specific purpose, functions and powers. The Board is not required to take directions from any other person or agency.
Establishment of the Board
Section 67 of the Local Government (Auckland Law Reform) Act 2009 establishes the Board.
What is the Board's purpose?
The purpose of the Board is to assist the Auckland Council to make decisions, perform its functions, and exercise its powers.
To do this, the Board is to:
- Put forward the cultural, economic, environmental, and social issues that are significant for mana whenua groups and Mātāwaka in Tāmaki Makaurau, and
- Make sure the Council complies with statutory provisions that refer to the Treaty of Waitangi.
What does the Board do?
Achieving the Board's purpose
The Board’s actions must be guided by its purpose and functions, and must not go against them.
To help the Board achieve its purpose, the Board must develop a list of issues that are significant to Māori in Auckland. The issues should be ranked by priority, and must be kept up to date. This list of issues will guide the Board in developing its work programme, and will provide a way to ensure that the Board maintains an awareness of the issues of significance to Māori in Auckland.
The Board must also work with the Auckland Council to achieve the Board’s purpose. To do this, the Board must:
- Give advice to the Auckland Council about issues that affect Māori in Auckland, and
- Work with the Auckland Council to create suitable documents and processes to help the Council meet its statutory obligations to Māori in Auckland.
The Board and the Auckland Council must also meet at least four times each year to discuss the Council’s performance of its duties.
Participation in Auckland Council committees
The Board must choose up to two people to appoint as members on each of the Auckland Council’s committees that deal with the management and stewardship of natural and physical resources. The Council may also request that the Board appoint a Board Member to sit on other Auckland Council committees.
When appointing Board Members to Auckland Council committees, the Board must first ask the Auckland Council what skills and experience that the Council would like the appointed persons to have. The Board must take these views into account.
What powers does the Board have?
To help the Board carry out its purpose, the Board has the power to establish committees it thinks necessary, seek any advice it requires to fulfil its purpose (e.g. legal, financial, environmental advice etc.), and consult anyone it thinks will be helpful.
For example, the Board may choose to establish committees to deal with particular issues, or to deal with issues in a particular location. The Board is able to obtain the expert advice it needs to ensure that it can carry out tasks such as providing advice to the Auckland Council.
The Board also has any other powers it needs to carry out its purpose.
What obligations do Board Members have?
Members of the Board, when they are acting as members of the Board, must act in the interests of achieving the Board’s purpose, and must not act in any other interest.
Board Members also share the Board’s responsibility for complying with the Public Finance Act 1989.
What obligations does the Board have?
Obligations under the Public Finance Act 1989
As a public entity, the Board is under the obligations in the Public Finance Act 1989. Amongst other things, these include:
- Requirements relating to how the Board’s money may be spent, and
- Financial and non-financial reporting obligations.
These obligations are also the responsibility of the Board Members.
Meetings
The Board must hold its first meeting no later than 15 November 2010.
In the first meeting, the Board must appoint a member to act as a chairperson and a member to act as a deputy chairperson. The people chosen will hold those positions for three years, or until Auckland Council polling day, whichever comes first. Members may be reappointed to the position of chairperson or deputy chairperson more than once.
The Board must hold six meetings a year, and can hold as many more as it needs to be able to carry out its purpose. Notice of meetings must be given by the chairperson to each member at least five days before a meeting. Members have the right to attend all meetings, but can waive the requirement to give him or her notice, and may request leave of absence from a meeting.
Meeting minutes must be kept and approved. Quorum for a meeting is five members, including at least the chairperson or deputy chairperson. The Board may invite any advisers to the meeting that it considers necessary to make the meeting more efficient and productive.
The Board may set rules and procedures to make sure that its decisions are reached by consensus and in good faith.
Members are bound by the decisions made by the board and must not take steps to undermine the decisions.
Reporting requirements
The Board must publish an annual report, including:
- the dates and times of the board’s meetings in the financial year,
- a summary of the board’s activities in the financial year, and
- anything else that the board wants to put in it.
The Board must give copies of the report to the Auckland Council and the Selection Body.
Other information
The Board is independent
The Board is a body corporate independent of the Auckland Council, the members of the Board, the selection body, and the mana whenua groups represented on the selection body. The Board is not required to accept direction from any person.
Costs of selecting members of the Board and Selection Body
Individual mana whenua groups are to bear the costs involved with choosing their own mandated representatives for the Selection Body.
The Auckland Council will bear the costs of the Selection Body’s process for selecting Board Members.
Board funding
The Auckland Council must meet the reasonable costs involved in establishing the Board’s committees, the Board’s operations, and getting advice.
The Board must make its first funding agreement with the Auckland Council within three months of the Board’s establishment. This agreement must be negotiated in good faith, and must include:
- The amount of money and level of servicing the Council is to provide to the Board,
- The Board’s work plan for the year, and
- Provisions about Board Members’ fees and expenses.
Board Members’ fees and expenses
The Auckland Council must hire an independent expert to determine what the appropriate fees are to pay the chairperson, deputy chairperson, and other Board Members. The independent expert must consider the Board’s purpose, functions, and powers, and must make a recommendation to the Board. The Auckland Council must follow the independent expert’s advice.
Until the Council has decided what fees to pay, Board Members must be paid a similar amount to that which a specialist advisor to the Auckland Council would receive.
Each Board Member is entitled to be reimbursed for actual and reasonable travelling and other expenses incurred in performing his or her functions and duties as a Board Member.
Naming the Board
The Board may choose its name, and may change its name at any time. The Board must notify the Minister of Māori Affairs and the Auckland Council as soon as practicable.
Liability of Board Members
A Board Member is not liable for anything done or omitted in good faith in the performance of the board’s functions or the exercise of its powers.
Ending Board membership
Board Members hold their office for three years, unless they are removed or resign before then. Members may be reappointed.
To resign, a Board Member must give four weeks’ notice to the Board and the Minister of Māori Affairs. If a Board Member resigns, the Board must replace that Member, unless there is less than a year remaining until the next Auckland Council election, in which case the Board may choose not to replace the Member. A replacement Board Member will hold the office only for the time remaining until the next Auckland Council election.
The majority of the Board may remove a Board Member appointed by the Selection body or a member appointed to an Auckland Council committee. The Board must have just cause. This includes: misconduct, inability to perform the functions of office, neglect of duty, and serious breach of any of the collective duties of the board or the individual duties of members. Removal of the member must be made through notice to the member, with copies to the Minister of Māori Affairs and the Auckland Council. Notice must state the reasons for the removal, and the date removal takes effect (not earlier than the notice is received).
A Board Member is not entitled to any compensation for ceasing to hold office as a member.