Kudos to those who are prepared to step into the unknown

In July 2018, at the Local Government NZ Conference, a heady call was made for a shift in decision-making from centralisation to localism.

LGNZ said the localism project would put people back in charge of politics and reinvigorate democracy, and saw candidates in the 2019 local government elections pick up on this theme in their campaigns.

Fast forward three years and the pendulum is smashing through the stratosphere in the opposite direction, thanks to the impact of Three Waters reform, radical changes to the RMA and its subset legislation on climate change, and the sudden realisation of a need for a total reform of the sector called Future For Local Government. The financial underpinning of the long-term plan we were working on was effectively munted by Three Waters reform.

The advice from the attorneygeneral’s office was for councils to carry on as if it was business as usual. Given long-term plans are critical planning tools, councils were increasingly skating on thin ice. I remember in October last year, council staff grappling with the impact of increased housing density around transport hubs proposed under the National Policy Statement on Urban Capacity. Out of the blue, the government turbocharged greater intensification of residential areas with new legislation and tighter timelines.

I mention this to highlight the impact of the range of these shockwave changes on council staff. In a three-yearly election cycle, elected members are churned over regularly while council CEOs and staff provide organisational and policy continuity as guardians of the long term-plan and the district plan. During the past three years, this council engine room has been under huge stress responding to the government’s reform programme. This includes endless submissions to the government bills, public consultations, briefings and workshops. Add tight budgets and timelines, and you have a recipe for staff burnouts.

Then add the impact of Covid on staff ability to respond because of disruption to normal work process, sickness and the abuse from the belligerent section of local anti-vaxers.

This has had another negative impact. There is an expected and healthy tension between councillors and council staff reflecting the established separation of responsibilities between governance and management. But under these stressful conditions, councillors – particularly first-timers who lack the appreciation of the separation of roles – have felt alienated, believing staff are making decisions and elected members merely rubber-stamping them.

There is another thread to the local government sector that adds to this scenario: the unfunded mandate. This is where Parliament functions as a factory, spewing out a range of legislations. Local councils, as regulatory authorities, are required to administer, monitor, regulate and enforce them. It requires more staff and, because no central government money comes with it, councils have to increase rates to service this cost. And every year, unlike central government, councils consult the community on annual plan budgets. And we get our annual bollocking some ratepayers unhappy about the increase.

When the legislation has a negative impact, those affected don’t blame the government, but it’s the council, as regulatory authority that gets it in the neck.

Candidates, aware of this ready pool of popular discontent, find it easy to agitate for votes. This includes attacking the voiceless council staff. The current local elections come during an unprecedented level of instability and angst including the threat from shifting global politics. And I have not touched on the challenge of legislation empowering the Treaty-based rights of the Mā ori world-view.

The ability to negotiate these challenges needs candidates with strong views and the ability to accept others with strong views and to work collaboratively. But low remuneration and the increasing abuse through social media reduces the sector’s attraction of quality candidates. Kudos to those with the qualities who have put their hands up to step into the unknown.

‘Local elections come during an unprecedented level of instability and angst including the threat from shifting global politics.’