A‘challenging’ term: Noonan steps aside
City councillor Gaile Noonan will not be standing for re-election, she announced yesterday, after a difficult term dealing with the impacts of Covid on the workplace.
‘‘This term of council has been particularly challenging and working from home has not always been a positive experience,’’ she said.
‘‘The teamwork required for decision-making in running a city is something best done faceto-face.’’
Noonan has been on the Nelson City Council for three terms, and said it was time for a break from local politics and a time for a ‘‘personal reassessment as to how to best serve the community’’.
She said the ‘‘great resignation’’ phenomenon was in effect on the council, affecting staff and elected members alike, and said it showed the impact of Covid on the organisation.
‘‘Last election there was no question I wanted to be at the table, but it’s been a solo journey for most of this term which has been quite hard. This is not a role where you have much encouragement or support through some very complex decision-making, so the collegial support is essential.’’
She said this kind of support was only becoming more important, as online bullying and criticism based on misinformation increased. She said despite her belief in the importance of participation and speaking up, she had stepped back from social media.
‘‘The attacks can get quite personal, but they’re usually from people who don’t know me and they don’t know the ‘whole’ picture,’’ she said.
‘‘It can get pretty nasty if you try and correct statements, or even if you just try and give a different perspective.’’
She said that often decisions were more complicated than people realised, with apparently simple decisions in isolation having potentially significant overall effects when considered as part of the whole of council decision-making.
She said the increasing bullying online affected more than just elected members, and she was concerned that people in the community were becoming more hesitant to participate in local government on any level, whether to support projects they liked, or to speak up on important issues.
‘‘We need all voices to be heard. It’s important that people and groups speak up, just as it’s important to have a cross-section of our community at the council table, but social media has been weaponised, and it’s having such a negative impact on people’s willingness to share their views.’’
Noonan said things were being ‘‘handed down from Government with what seems like no real understanding of what we are already dealing with’’.
‘‘Council sets priorities and work programmes and then all of a sudden, we have Government issues thrust at us and usually with no budget, and then our community’s priorities have to go on the back burner.’’
‘‘Being a councillor is tough, but it is also very rewarding.’’ Gaile Noonan
However, despite her recent frustrations, Noonan said she didn’t want to put people off running for election, rather she wanted people to know what they were signing up for at the outset. On paper the job is classed as a ‘‘part-time contractor’’ role, but she said in real terms it was effectively a more-than full time job, with after-hours and ‘‘at least one day most weekends’’ spent on emails and readings.
‘‘Being a councillor is tough, but it is also very rewarding. We need the quiet achievers who get so much done by understanding the mechanics of council, just as much as we need the vocal advocates.’’
She said it had been a privilege to serve the community, and there were many highlights – particularly the marina master plan currently out for public feedback, which Noonan had overseen as chair of the strategic development and property subcommittee, and from previous terms as chair of the community services committee the city’s city-for-allages strategy, and the formation of the Arts Festival Trust. She would ‘‘have a breather’’ before exploring new ways to contribute to the community.