Local government in New Zealand needs to wake up and get out of the ''Dark Ages'', by introducing technology to council meetings, a former regional councillor said this week.
Dr June Slee, who represented the now defunct Waitaki ward on the Canterbury Regional Council from 2004 to 2007, said although under the Local Government Act councillors were required to be physically present in order to vote, the use of technology to allow a virtual presence would aid rural councillors and communities in particular.
Dr Slee welcomed a Local Government Efficiency Taskforce report, released in December, which recommended
greater use of technology by councils should be investigated. Just last month Waitaki district councillor Craig Dawson announced he would not stand for re-election because of the difficulties in travelling from Omarama to Oamaru for meetings, and Dr Slee said rural communities would continue to lose out if nothing was done to embrace technology.
''One problem it would solve is the continued chipping away of power from rural communities.
''Rural communities need real representation.''
However, ''real'' representation could still be achieved through an ''online'' medium, she said.
While virtual votes were not allowed, people who slept through a meeting were allowed to ''wake up and vote'', she said.
''Local government has to get its act together and get out of the Dark Ages.''
