Southland Mayor Rob Scott has defended spending more than $12,000 of ratepayer money on a six-day trip to Scandinavia, calling it a worthwhile investment.
The Southland District Council revealed this week it spent $12,840 for Scott to join an Infrastructure NZ delegation that visited Sweden and Norway from May 4-9.
Former Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark questioned the expenditure, saying he would be asking hard questions if he was a ratepayer in the district.
"I see it as an investment, and I wouldn't have done the trip if I didn't see it that way," Scott said of the amount spent.
According to Scott, about $8000 went towards the delegation costs including accommodation, with the remainder covering flights. The decision was discussed behind closed doors with councillors' full support.
"I stewed over this for a long time, in terms of whether I should go or not. The discussion with the councillors was very valuable," Scott said.
"I always go on my gut feeling. I know that ratepayer money ... needs to be invested wisely and every dollar matters. So this trip really needed to matter, and it has."
Scott said he completed the trip as affordably as possible and paid for personal expenses himself.
Clark, a ratepayer group advocate, questioned why the trip was necessary when technology was available for virtual meetings. He also criticised the decision being made in private.
"To make a decision like that knowing there would be some sort of political scrutiny of it thereafter doesn't sit well with me," Clark said.
Clark noted that the ombudsman and auditor-general had given instruction for transparency at meetings, making decisions in non-recorded or non-public meetings unacceptable.
On Wednesday, Scott joined a district council meeting via video feed and revealed he was still abroad, having stopped in New York for "a couple of extra days" at his own expense. He was due to fly back to New Zealand yesterday.
Scott confirmed he was the only mayor on the trip. His key takeaway was that local government was funded properly in Sweden and Norway, making it easier for them to "get stuff done".
The council said Scott was invited to attend the trip in December last year and no other elected members or staff joined him.
"Mayor Rob discussed the trip with councillors [not through a formal report] earlier this year before responding to the invitation, and was given endorsement by all for the trip," a council spokesperson said.