Role of Christchurch’s top public servant ‘not for the faint-hearted’

Friday, 1 December 2023

Political party leader and former city councillor Raf Manji says he would consider applying for the role of Christchurch’s top public servant.

The job of Christchurch City Council chief executive is now officially vacant, with the resignation of former CEO Dawn Baxendale taking effect from Friday.

Baxendale abruptly resigned earlier this month, 11 months before her contract was due to end, sighting personal reasons. The council has refused to say if she has received a payout and why she did not have to work out her six-month notice period.

The council is now tasked with finding a replacement. Interim chief executive Mary Richardson has ruled out taking on the job permanently.

Mayor Phil Mauger said last week that the council was not expected to advertise the role until next year, because it first needed to figure out exactly what it was looking for in a chief executive.

Manji has a few ideas.

He believed the job needed to be filled by someone with a connection to Christchurch.

“We do not want someone from overseas or outside Christchurch. They’ve got to know the landscape.”

Baxendale came from the UK, where she was chief executive of Birmingham City Council for 16 months.

Manji said it was important to understand the people that you are leading, because the council was a very local organisation.

“It’s very difficult to bring people in from other places. People that come in from overseas do struggle to understand the local landscape.”

Manji, who was born in England and moved to New Zealand about 20 years ago, was a Christchurch city councillor from 2013 to 2019, when he was pivotal in getting the council’s dire post-earthquake finances in order.

In 2017, he ran in the central Government election in Ilam as an independent, losing out to then-incumbent Gerry Brownlee.

He had another go in Ilam during this year’s election, but he was unsuccessful again. He stood as leader of The Opportunities Party, a role he still holds.

“Christchurch is still my thing.”

Another name that keeps being mentioned as a possible contender is former Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates.

Meates stood for the mayoralty last year, losing by 2271 votes to Mauger.

He was a popular boss at the health board, with staff saying he built a “can do” culture, demonstrated “true leadership” and “transformed” the organisation during his tenure.

One could argue, it is that type of leader the city council needs right now, as staff morale has taken a hit over the past few years.

Meates was appointed an interim chief executive of Rowing New Zealand in January.

When asked if he would apply for the chief executive’s job at the council, Meates said this week, he was committed to Rowing NZ through to the Olympics in Paris in July/August next year.

“I’m very much immersed in that role. That is essentially where I am at the moment.”

And after the Rowing NZ gig?

Meates would only say that was “a wee way away” and he had not given it a lot of thought.

The job could be an obvious progression for pretty much any chief executive of any smaller council across the country.

Selwyn and Waimakariri district councils have both appointed new chief executives this year, so they are unlikely to want to move up so quickly.

However, Ashburton District Council’s chief Hamish Riach has been there for five years and it is possible he could be looking for another challenging gig.

Riach, who was the Crusaders chief executive for 16 years before taking up the job at Ashburton, could not be reached on the phone.

Ashburton District Council’s communications manager ended up responding via email saying Riach had no comment to make.

Hurunui District Council’s chief executive Hamish Dobbie has been in his role for 10 years.

He said this week, he was happy at Hurunui, but he would not say if he was going to apply for the Christchurch job.

Gore District Council’s controversial outgoing chief executive Stephen Parry will be on the lookout for another job next year, but said he had not given the Christchurch role any thought.

“I’m flattered you might be thinking of my name,” he said.

Parry resigned as Gore’s chief executive in September amid claims of bullying, and has been embroiled in controversy around the breakdown of his working relationship with mayor Ben Bell.

He has been appointed as Gore’s interim chief executive until a replacement could be found, which he expected would be early next year.

Parry said he could see Christchurch City Council had some major issues.

“It will need an experienced pair of hands to navigate its way through some turbulent waters.

“Christchurch City Council is a big, big gig. It’s not for the faint-hearted.”