Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell will ask councillors today to take on a heavier committee workload, in a move designed to get ahead of a law change that will strip voting rights from appointed committee members.

A proposal tabled for today's Invercargill City Council meeting would put all 13 elected members on the council's risk and assurance committee and add a sixth councillor to its water committee.

The risk and assurance committee currently has eight elected members. The water committee has five, and Campbell wants councillor Ria Bond to fill the extra seat on what he has described as a busy committee.

The reshuffle responds to a Government announcement in July that the Local Government Act will be amended so that only elected members can vote on council committees.

The amendment is not due to take effect until 2027, but Campbell has told councillors he wants the council to make the changes now so that it is well placed when the new rules arrive.

Four appointed members lose their votes

Under the proposed legislation, four non-elected members of Invercargill committees would lose their voting rights: mana whenua representative Mike Bain, water committee deputy chair Lee Babe, risk and assurance committee chair Ross Jackson and committee member Lesley Soper.

Three non-elected members of the council's community wellbeing fund subcommittee would also lose the right to vote.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts signalled the change in June, pointing to councils including Far North, Tauranga and Hastings that had given votes to appointed iwi representatives and young people.

"That's not democratic, so we're fixing it," Watts said at the time.

Council manager governance Michael Morris has advised that the expanded risk and assurance committee would carry no extra cost, because councillors are paid an annual honorarium rather than a fee for each meeting they attend.

The practical effect is that every elected member, rather than a smaller group that includes appointed members, will be expected to work through the council's audit, risk and compliance business.

Extraordinary meeting on 2 November

The committee changes are the first step in a longer process. A report on the wider legislative changes will go to an extraordinary council meeting on 2 November, where councillors could discuss whether Invercargill should apply for an exception to the new rules.

Campbell was elected mayor in October 2025 and leads a council of 12 councillors plus the mayor, with Grant Dermody as deputy mayor.

The risk and assurance committee oversees the council's financial reporting, audit and risk management, and has until now been chaired by an appointed member. The water committee is dealing with the council's move to deliver water services in-house under the Government's Local Water Done Well reforms.

The Herald will update this story once councillors have voted.