Local elections: painful, but necessary
As much as we try to block it out, we must steel ourselves for the coming pain. Every three years we return to the grassroots of democracy in Aotearoa with local body elections. The pure, unadulterated joy of selecting those who would sit at the tables of sub-power (and sub-sub power, with community boards). That’s right, folks, Aotearoa’s second-tier poll, our Commonwealth Games of politics, returns in October.
I shouldn’t make light of the importance of local government in our everyday life. Thanks to the Government, which is often accused of doing nothing with its unbridled majority power, there have been some juicy issues in the past term.
Let’s not forget the passage of legislation last year easing the creation of Mā ori wards in councils. This was an excellent move towards reversing a historical ‘‘glitch’’ that allowed binding, community-initiated polls to undo Mā ori wards created by councillors.
Then there was the Three Waters debate, which initially must have seemed to Labour like something that would have popular appeal. There was the awful 2016 Havelock North water contamination, and more recently Wellington City had a run of what could only be described as street-level sewage explosions.
Around the country, many councils forgot the unsexy, costly work of maintaining, expanding and repairing water services. Even typing sentences about water infrastructure makes me a little sleepy. So it was important but dull stuff, and people didn’t trust their local councils that much anyway – a quick win for the Government.
However, for months we saw opposition politicians triangulate on the weak spot of Three Waters reform. They sensed there was something in there, some political mileage to be made from the changes, which would create four regional water authorities across the country. After all, local pipes, surely, are for local poops. Who knows what might happen if the Government gets its hands on your sewerage?
In the end, political opponents seem to have reliably settled on the fake spectre of Mā ori running away with drinking, waste and stormwater services. I’m talking about the c-word, cogovernance.
That’s ridiculous. Where would we store all that junk? My garage is already full of the jet skis I bought from my Treaty settlement!
I will never cease marvelling at how the bugle call to the culture war, the appeal to provincialism, makes people ignore their own best interests.
If I were a ratepayer in a district or city that had flat-lining pipes, and faced whopping repair and maintenance bills over the coming decades, I would be delighted to have the rest of the country offer to help cover the costs. As it is, the mana whenua aspect of co-governance appears to be at the highest, regional governance level.
What these issues show us is that local government is a lively beast that we should never forget. There are billions of dollars of assets and land tied up in council operations. Councils are the first place we go to seek cash for community projects. They are the last place many of us want our local tax – rates – to go. Yet I’m nearly 100% sure we need them.
I guess what I’m saying is that we have to grit our teeth and show interest in the coming elections. For god’s sakes, find out as much as you can about the people who are standing, because every election there are some absolute turkeys seeking a seat at the table.
And if you’ve got some time, a big heart for your community, willingness to help, and an ability to take snark from columns like this, then please think about standing.