Keep it positive, says outgoing councillor
A retiring councillor has criticised what he perceives as the uncooperative nature of some of his colleagues.
Environment committee chairman Peter Jerram, who has served for two-and-a-half terms, said he was disappointed with the attitude of some councillors during his tenure.
‘‘There seems to be a growing number of councillors who think that the role of a councillor is to be obstructive and negative,’’ he said.
Last week, outgoing councillor Jessica Bagge said the council was held back by an ‘‘old boys’’ attitude from some councillors.
However, Jerram said in any major organisation there had to be a cabinet, as there was in central government.
In a council, the cabinet group was made up of the various committee chairmen and women, and people needed to prove themselves before they were given those jobs.
His advice to new councillors was not to go in with the attitude of ‘‘I’m going to fix this council’’, but to keep their eyes and ears open and learn, he said.
Jerram said he enjoyed the chance to have an input into Marlborough’s future, through the new Environment Plan.
‘‘I’m really proud that I have been part of the council which has seen the project right through from its inception,’’ Jerram said.
The plan would shape the region’s environmental policies for the next 20 years.
Submissions close on the new plan later this week.
‘‘It embodies our regional policy statement,’’ Jerram said.
Jerram, a former vet, said his friend, historian Ron Crosby, had persuaded him to stand for council.
Jerram was stepping away from local government for personal reasons, and would have more time to write, fish and camp, and spend more time with his family.
‘‘It’s an all-encompassing job being on council,’’ he said.
Jerram, who had a degree in agricultural science, as well as veterinary science, came into council without an agenda.
However, environmental issues were something he had always been conscious of, he said.
Staff at council did not get a lot of praise for what they did, and were sometimes ‘‘a bit maligned’’, but they were dedicated and professional.
‘‘I rate them highly,’’ he said. ’’They’re a really great bunch of people.’’
The future of the council’s environment committee would depend on who was elected, he said.
Marlborough Mayor Alistair Sowman said Jerram made a huge contribution to the council, on the environment committee and the Marlborough regional forestry joint committee.
The environment committee was ‘‘not the sexy side of the council’’ and Jerram’s work had been largely under the radar, Sowman said.
Jerram said in his retirement from council he would write about the sinking of the Wahine in 1968, on which he was a passenger.
Fifty-one people lost their lives on April 10, 1968, when the passenger ship was driven onto a reef in the mouth of Wellington Harbour during a storm. Several others died in the following weeks.
Jerram was a 20-year-old Lincoln College student at the time.
He was a trustee of charitable trust Wahine 50, set up to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event on April 10, 2018.
Jerram would also be writing about James Cook’s visits to Queen Charlotte Sound, which he visited over a period of nearly 10 years.
The Marlborough District Council has budgeted $100,000 annually over five years towards celebrating the anniversary of the 18th century explorer’s landing.
Jerram released a book with fellow vet Peter Anderson earlier this year, a collection of short stories about their time in practice together.