New Plymouth District councillors achieved a rare moment of complete political unity today, voting unanimously to reinstate the Age and Accessibility Working Party (AAWP) for a one-year term.
The decisive vote, secured following a Notice of Motion put forward by Councillor Sam Bennett, followed powerful deputations from members of the aged and disability community who filled the Council Chamber audience, underscoring concern from the sector over the working group’s elimination.
Mayor Max Brough accepted the final amended motion and voted in favour, acknowledging the “raw emotion” in the room and publicly apologising for the distress the process had caused the community.
Consensus was achieved through compromises. The newly reinstated AAWP will operate for 12 months, with the final amended resolution allowing the Mayor to appoint the three elected members to the working party through an expressions of interest process, rather than the mover of the motion retaining the chair position automatically.
This concession, agreed upon by Councillor Bennett, ensures the Mayor retains control over the appointment process. The motion also mandates that the AAWP’s structure, membership and operation will be subject to a full Council review after the 12-month period, aligning the group’s mandate with the Mayor’s wider plans to review all council committees to improve efficiency.
The controversy began when Mayor Brough, newly elected in October 2025, implemented a restructure aimed at accelerating the Council’s “protracted, cumbersome” six-week decision-making cycle down to four weeks, eliminating several committees and working groups in the process.
The Mayor had planned to replace the AAWP with a less formal internal steering group and a guaranteed 30-minute slot at the new Public Engagement Committee,. He defended the shift as an essential “evolution” toward efficiency and better governance, noting that input would be embedded “right from the beginning” of key projects like the Tūparikino Active Community Hub and the Coastal Walkway extension,.
However, deputations from the sector made it clear that the new structure was perceived as diminishing their voice and leading to “discriminatory language that trivialised [their] experience”.
Speakers passionately stressed that the AAWP was a proven, essential mechanism that delivered tangible results, including funding for universal design features in facilities and accessibility improvements to mobility parking and public facilities, such as the toilet facility at the TSB Stadium and the sensory evening at the TSB Festival of Lights.
Councillor Dinnie Moeahu commended the Mayor’s leadership and humility in navigating the conflict, noting that while the debate caused “friction,” the unanimous vote proved that every councillor genuinely desired to support the community.
Councillor Bennett articulated that the AAWP was “not bureaucracy” but the critical “bridge” necessary for transparency and accountability to the 28% of the district’s residents who live with a disability and the one in five who are over 65.
