More diversity would have been better

Announcing the appointment yesterday of former mayor Vicki Buck as her deputy, the new mayor, Lianne Dalziel, emphasised the experience of the city council that Buck will bring to the role. Buck, who was first a councillor in 1974 when she was barely 19 and served as mayor for three terms from 1989, certainly outstrips everyone else on the new council when it comes to experience. In a city council in which almost three-quarters around the table are new to council affairs, she will bring a huge basic understanding of local government that most of the others will not have. This should make her of great assistance to the mayor, who, though a seasoned politician, has never served at the local level.

But in choosing Buck, Dalziel could be seen to have opted for someone very closely allied with herself and someone whose background and skill set is broadly similar. One of the principal objections – almost the only objection of any substance – that opponents of Dalziel had to her running for mayor was the perception that she was a hardwired Labour Party woman who could find it difficult to shake off the partisan habits of a national politician and adapt to the more consensus-driven style necessary in local government, and certainly necessary in Christchurch in the recovery.

Buck may not be seen as such a party person, but she started her political career as a Labour person and served for a considerable period under the party’s banner. Many of her views, attitudes and aptitudes may be seen as similar to Dalziel’s. It may be more perception than reality, but a mayor seeking to show an openness to Christchurch opinion in all its many varieties might have chosen someone as deputy who brought greater diversity to the top level at the council table.

All that said, Buck, when she was mayor, was a very consensus-driven person. It may be difficult to avoid the rosy hue that nostalgia often gives to events from the past, but certainly compared to the turmoil of recent years the council under Buck seemed to operate more harmoniously. The mayor and council then also had generally good relations with the business community, something that Dalziel has indicated she wants to have for the council under her mayoralty, and Buck’s experience in founding a school since she left the mayoralty will have given her a sympathetic insight into the challenges facing businesspeople.

Under changes made recently to the Local Government Act, the mayor has the power to appoint the deputy. Dalziel, however, had said she wanted agreement of councillors on the choice and that appears to have been the process she followed.

The mayor now also appoints the chairs of council committees and Dalziel’s first choice was of Raf Manji to the finance committee. Manji’s background of 11 years as an investment banker in London made him an obvious choice despite the fact that he is entirely new to the council. Ratepayers will be looking to him to bring new rigour and transparency to elected members’ scrutiny of the council’s finances.