1. New ways of ‘hearing’ - Case Study
27 November 2015

2. Legislation Requirements
Dog Control Act 1996
10 Duty of territorial authorities to adopt policy on dogs
(1) Every territorial authority must adopt, in accordance with the special consultative procedure set out in section 83 of the Local Government Act 2002, a policy in respect of dogs in the district of the territorial authority
Local Government Act 2002 (LGA)
156 Consultation requirements when making, amending, or revoking bylaws made under this Act
(1) When making a bylaw under this Act or amending or revoking a bylaw made under this Act, a local authority must—
(a) use the special consultative procedure if … of significant interest to the public; …

3. Legislation Requirements
LGA S83 Special consultative procedure – Council must:
(d) provide an opportunity for persons to present their views to the local authority in a manner that enables spoken (or NZ sign language) interaction between the person and the local authority, or any representatives to whom an appropriate delegation has been made in accordance with Schedule 7; and
(e) ensure that any person who wishes to present his or her views to the local authority or its representatives as described is given a reasonable opportunity to do so

4. Legislation Requirements
Section 82 Principles of consultation
(1) Consultation that a local authority undertakes in relation to any decision or other matter must be undertaken, subject to subsections (3) to (5), in accordance with the following principles:
(d) that persons who wish to have their views on the decision or matter considered by the local authority should be provided by the local authority with a reasonable opportunity to present those views to the local authority in a manner and format that is appropriate to the preferences and needs of those persons.

5. Dog Control Policy and Bylaw Review
Consultation Summary
Proposed discussion session format to Council early in the project – some dissension but approved
Strategy and Coms prepared plan for the sessions
Workshop with Council on proposed plan for the sessions and how to lead the discussion groups
Councillors asked for 2 early evening sessions to encourage working people to come
Had to revise plan as less people than expected wished to attend
Auckland held discussion sessions for their review
(based on people?)

6. Discussion Session Details
From survey/submission forms - 37 said they wished to speak with elected members
4 sessions held – 2 and 8 September
2 day and 2 after work sessions (5.15pm), 2 each TA/CB
20 came to discussion sessions
1 session well attended (9)
Only 3 elected members didn’t make it to the sessions
5 Councillors chaired at various sessions
On the form/survey online we asked “Do you wish to discuss your views with Councillors at an open discussion session?”
Other sessions had 3-4 attendees

7. Lead Councillors’ Role
Prompt the table discussions
Wrap up table discussion and thank attendees
Present top 3 things they learned to the room
NB:
Councillors are at the tables to listen to the attendees, not to provide their own experiences or views
Keep people on track and keep them brief
Make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to speak
Sample slide from Council workshop

8. Feedback from Elected Members & staff
Question
Response
Overall, did you think the consultation was successful?
Yes- 100%
Did you think we did enough to engage and inform the public?
There was a good amount of engagement 83%
Could have done more 17%
Did you attend the round table discussion sessions?
Yes - 92%
No - 8%
If yes, did you feel the sessions were valuable?
Yes - 100%
Did you prefer the sessions over the formal hearing process?
Would you be interested in us running discussion sessions instead of formal hearings in the future?

9. Feedback from Elected Members & Staff
Good opportunities for dog owners (and others) to have their say. Lots of good input.
Great but we need to do this sort of consultation more often.
Gave people a chance to have their say in an informal setting.
It made sense, it was relaxed and very helpful for everyone.
Very high quality feedback and suggestions came out. The detail and level of engagement was far more than formal submissions as there was two way discussion between submitters and councillors and also between submitters themselves which teased out specific solutions that could be possible. Everyone seemed to treat each other's opinion with respect.

10. Learnings
Make phone number compulsory on online form if they wish to speak with elected members
Make some evening sessions from the outset –people to tick which meeting they wish to attend
Make an online forum session?
Select Chairs well and train them to a consistent format
Allocate dedicated staff resources to work on this – a lot more staff time is required than hearings
– we were not able to make contact with a number of people using = 20/37 attendees
I had to people about the change to hold evening sessions – extra work
Plan meetings at outset and ask people to tick which they wish to attend – for planning purposes

11. Feedback from Submitters
Thank you to the elected members of Waipa District Council for their commitment to listen to the submissions.
I think it is marvellous that the elected Council members are being so thoughtful and enthusiastic to hear from the submitters.
Just had to say thanks again for the dog meeting - it was great to get together and thrash things out!
Really appreciate being involved in this process and I look forward to hearing the next development.

12. Next Steps
Presented paper to Council to discuss survey results and propose using mixture of discussion session and hearings as appropriate for other projects coming up
Very positive feedback and support for the process going forward
Decided to recommend the method of hearing views to Councillors in first report on each project for their approval. – Change and adapt the method – tailor it to each project and subject matter.