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NOVEMBER 10, 2022
Questions, questions… By Mary Anne Gill
Six Waipā residents have put in 15 per cent of the 434 official information requests to the council in the last year, taking up more than eight weeks’ staff time. The most prolific requester, with 14, is a Cambridge woman whose requests have taken more than 70 hours and include questions about cycleways, rock garden intersections, residents’ survey, council meetings, replacement bridge and the Duke Street intersection. Close behind her is a Te Awamutu man with 13 requests taking more than 65 staff hours on matters including Memorial Park, noise and dust management, Rangiaowhia site, spatial plans and upgrades to the Bunnings Building among others. Another requester complained to the Ombudsman about the council’s use of a macron in Waipā. The News requested the information under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings
Diana Aquilina briefs newly elected councillors about their obligations under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. Photo: Mary Anne Gill Act (Lgoima). The council said in the 12 months ended October 31, 33 people had put in more than
He’s our Lake Te Koo Utu mapper – Jeffrey To talks about his unusual work on Page 3 today.
one request under the act. Legal counsel Diana Aquilina said the council had a well-tested system to
handle Lgoima requests and did not consider the process to be a waste of time. “It’s all part of local
Why is this 80km/h sign being celebrated at Karāpiro School this week/ Find out on Page 13
Meet the winning business team which showed the Waikato it had the right profile – see page 20
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government business,” she said in support of the system which she said provided transparency for the public.
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“We take it in our stride.” Each request takes on average five hours. Aquilina, who has been with the council for two years and for five years prior to that was with Waikato DHB, graduated from Victoria University before beginning her work in public service. It is an area she enjoys working in because of the variety and being part of a wider team. The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act was passed in 1987 and recently revised. Requests for information can be made either verbally or in writing and agencies can charge a “reasonable fee” for staff time and photocopying. Agencies can reduce or waive the charge if there is a good reason. Aquilina said the council often puts LGOIMA responses on its website, particularly if they are issues of public interest, with requestors’ names withheld to protect their privacy. Lucy Bennett, a senior communications adviser at the Office of the
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