On Wednesday she told RNZ the declaration was "politically charged".

But Dave Cull, president of LGNZ, says the declaration is purely aspirational and no one is being pressured into signing up.

"It's not a binding contract; there are no specific goals.

"It's just a recognition that we, the communities, need to be looking to change the way their communities operate and reduce their carbon footprint."

Cull said the idea that the Climate Change Declaration was "politically charged" was a misunderstanding and "no one's putting the hard word on them."

"My suspicion is that any pressure to sign comes from communities going to their councils and saying look, this is something we would like you to do."

Fifty-five councils have signed the document which asks councils to promote walking and public transport, improve resource efficiency and healthy homes, and support renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Cull, who is the mayor Dunedin, was the first mayor to sign the declaration in 2017 and said he was motivated by the situation in South Dunedin.

The North Island councils still to sign up: Manawatu District Council, Tararua District Council, Taupo District Council, Far North District Council, Thames-Coromandel District Council, Opotiki District Council, Hamilton City Council, Otorohanga District Council, Wairoa District Council, Horowhenua District Council, South Taranaki District Council, Kaipara District Council, Whangarei District Council, Stratford District Council.

The South Island councils still to sign up: Buller District Council, Hurunui District Council, Timaru District Council, Mackenzie District Council, Waimate District Council, Waitaki District Council, West Coast Regional Council, Westland District Council and Queenstown Lakes District Council.

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• scoop.co.nz
• tvnz.co.nz
• Image: radionz.co.nz

"I went to a Marist Brothers school. I was Catholic, I had good morals instilled by my parents and my school and they have stuck with me."

"I still go to church and I think it is important. Christianity has waned in New Zealand, but I think the rules you learn as a Catholic, as a Christian, really, hold you in good stead."

Kokshoorn, 61, admits the "ants in his pants" that blighted his progress at school are still present, but he harnesses his energy in business, local government and fundraising for the community.

(The photograph above shows Kokshoorn taking a plunge in a swollen river at mid- winter as part a money raising effort)

A successful car dealer and newspaper proprietor, Kokshoorn was propelled to national prominence when the Pike River Mine disaster claimed the lives of 29 miners and contractors in 2010.

In 2012 he told the New Zealand Herald, "I believe in the afterlife. I have Christian values. I believe in family and the right for everyone to work.

" My mother also taught me that you never tell a lie. And I never have. And that is someone who's sold cars for years. That seems impossible, but what goes around comes around."

When asked by Clare de Lore for a recent Listener column if religion helped him at the time of the crisis he said, " Without a doubt, along with my family and the wider community in New Zealand."

"This was the first time a mining disaster of that magnitude was seen on television screens in a serialised manner. It brought a lot of pressure - for example, through the media - but that didn't bother me. It was my job to front up."

Source

• listener.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: listener.co.nz

The bill, which is being considered by Parliament's commerce committee, would allow councils to pass a by-law to allow shops to open.

But Local Government president Lawrence Yule said by-laws were time consuming and clumsy and could be subject to appeals. Continue reading

Examples include local government zoning laws discriminating against churches and city officials telling senior citizens that praying over government-funded food violated the "separation of church and state" and might result in the meals being taken away from them.

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