Gisborne District Councillor is not convinced a new document being signed around the country is worth the paper it is written on.

Manu Caddie says the Kia Tūtahi Relationship Accord may be a step backwards compared to a previous agreement signed by the Labour-led government in 2001.

According to Mr Caddie the Accord being signed in Gisborne today has removed any concrete commitments about consultation, involvement in policy development and resourcing for communities replacing the previous document with very high level ‘principles’ which may mean very little in practice” says Mr Caddie. “At this time we need to have greater clarity about central government’s commitment to support the priorities of local communities, not vague platitudes that have taken 18 months to progress with no specific agreements on the most important aspects of the relationship.

Mr Caddie participated in early stages of the Accord development process but says many individuals and organisations in the community sector became disillusioned with the process and are very disappointed with the document as it stands.

ENDS

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Links:

– More detailed assessment of the document short-comings (written for draft but issues still stand in final document approved by Cabinet last month)

– Facebook page encouraging people not to sign Accord