Joint statement from Mayor Bob Parker and Tony Marryatt, Chief Executive of Christchurch City Council

In recent times there’s been a lot of negative feedback from the community about Tony Marryatt’s role as Chief Executive and the performance of the Christchurch City Council.

We have listened to and read the criticism that’s been made and recognise and agree that what many people are saying is justified.

We accept that there needs to be change because, at a time like this, people need to feel and to know there’s a steady, strong, sympathetic and more visible hand running their City Council.

This year the CEO will be out and about in the community in order to listen, learn and act on what people are thinking and feeling about their Council. In the past this role has been left to the Mayor and Councillors but recent events have shown that this needs to change.

There has also been criticism of the Council’s communication function. As a result, we have commissioned an independent audit and review of its communication function to identify what we’re doing well and what needs to improve, in particular: the processes, structure and systems used to communicate internally and externally.

This is actually something our communications team was planning to initiate in the middle of 2010 but then the earthquakes intervened. It’s timely to revive it now.

The audit and review, which is estimated to cost about $80,000, will involve discussion with up to 120 people within the Council and the Christchurch community as well as an analysis of the Council’s communication materials. It is likely to involve a public survey of a representative sample of ratepayers.

The full report will be made public as soon as it is received by Councillors.

Felicity Price has been contracted to carry out this communication audit and review which will commence next week. Felicity has resigned from communications company Carter Price Rennie to carry out this independent audit. Felicity has led communications audits and reviews for the city’s three tertiary institutions, one other local authority in Canterbury, and a range of commercial enterprises. As chair of the Court Theatre Trust, Felicity led the task of re-establishing The Court in Addington, which was officially opened at the beginning of December. Felicity is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a Fellow of The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand.

Wilma Falconer, former General Manager Support Services at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and prior to that, Director External Relations at Environment Canterbury, will be working with Felicity on the audit and review. Wilma now lives in Wellington and works in the area of change management and change communication.