The final cost of sending Southland's mayor to the other side of the world has increased, as emails show some councillors were concerned about how the trip could be perceived.
By Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter
Last month, Southland District Council revealed it spent $12,840 sending mayor Rob Scott to Sweden and Norway as part of a six-day Infrastructure New Zealand delegation.
But a breakdown of costs requested by Local Democracy Reporting bumped that figure to $13,124 – and then $14,472 once the council was questioned about not including GST on the delegation.
The council did not include a breakdown with the original sum last month, and did not address the discrepancy when asked.
It also maintained a return journey via New York was the cheapest option following the mayor's revelation last month he had stopped over for “a couple of extra days” in the major city.
“There are no direct flights from Europe to NZ, and returning via New York was the most cost effective route at the time flights were booked,” the council said.
“Any costs associated with the stopover in New York, including accommodation etc, were paid for personally by Mayor Rob Scott.”
A decision for the trip was not formally made but was instead agreed to over email, the council said.
Those emails were released by the organisation and showed nine out of 12 councillors responded to the mayor, with strong support.
Councillor Matt Wilson backed the trip but was conscious of how it could be perceived and recommended a report be done on costs, key findings and proposed next steps after its completion.
Wilson said the context of the trip should be front-footed instead of "the budget being 'reported on' and portrayed as a junket".
His views were supported by councillor Jaspreet Boparai.
Infrastructure New Zealand information showed the delegation began in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 3 and concluded in Oslo, Norway, on May 8.
Scott said last month he was returning to the country on May 15.
The main cost of the trip was $10,339 for the delegation — which included accommodation — followed by $3992 for economy flights, $111 for Visas and $31 for a mobile hotspot.
Mayor 'agonised' over delegation invite
Scott will report back to council on the trip but has pre-empted that with a more than 900-word statement which was included in the council’s LGOIMA response.
Scott said he "agonised" over the invitation knowing "these sorts of things are never well received".
"I’m not interested in travel for the sake of it, and I’m certainly not interested in wasting ratepayer money,” Scott said.
"I am interested in making better decisions, backed by evidence and real-world experience.
"This trip reinforced for me that we need to keep pushing for a system that is fairer, more practical, and actually works for communities like ours."
Scott spoke highly about the government systems he observed in Sweden and Norway, which he said were heavily decentralised.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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