'Tis the festive season, so it’s time for charitable comments in the opinion page of the ODT.
Ah no, not really, as the best Christmas presents for we mortals would have been the wholesale resignations of mayors and chairs within local government, who seem to believe that massive rate increases (25%+) would be an ideal gift for their captive ratepayers.
Some also insist that open democracy should no longer apply to local government as it is, well, inconvenient to fully engage with ratepayers.
That major problems exist is no longer a matter for debate nor denial, as the constant stream of councillors display a dysfunctional attitude towards working together to attend the needs of regions, cities and the country.
Setting aside the small problem of whether ratepayers can afford their plans, political ideology now dominates the unspoken agendas of too many councillors as they represent their personal political party of choice — once elected.
This fundamental problem with local government means too many councillors simply cannot work with those who have a differing political, social, economic and possibly cultural philosophy.
From North Cape to the South, elected governance is in a deplorable state due to a plethora of reasons — including diversity for diversity’s sake.
From Invercargill to Gore, Dunedin City and Otago Regional Council, Christchurch some years ago, West Coast, Tauranga, Northland and more, public concerns are not just illustrated by isolated incidents but are driven by an obvious need for real reform.
One of the most recent examples is the Mayor of Wellington’s behaviour, which may have no personal consequence until possibly the next election.
Northland is the latest example of yet another upheaval among elected councillors. Ratepayers now have no sense that local government actually works in their interests, and it certainly doesn’t seem to exist to better allow for creative responses to old problems.
The big difference between central and local government is a (generally) cohesive ideology of the governing Cabinet of central government, versus a mishmash of ideological actors who now dominate the local arena.
Imagine a cabinet comprising National, Labour, Green, Act and New Zealand First, all representing their own parties’ agendas, even attempting to make decisions for the country in a cohesive way.
That is exactly what local government believes it can do, yet constantly illustrates it cannot.
How then is it possible to work towards a consensus when differing opinions are so entrenched in ideology? So too is the competence of so many elected councillors from differing backgrounds (see non-commercial) which gives a lie to the need for diversity. Some mayors even support 16-year-olds sitting at a council table offering their insights into complex issues, learnt presumably while still attending or having just left school.
The proliferation of issues the new Minister of Local Government is presented with simply cannot be ignored. Given the cost of living increases all ratepayers face, it is more than troubling that minimum 25% rate increases seem to be the new normal as the softening up process has begun.
The previous government’s drive on Three Waters reform is simply an indictment of council failure to focus on the important infrastructure — certainly since the 2002 Local Government Amendment Act was passed.
That Act gave local government the power of general competence. I suspect few if any would agree that that amendment has been a success. Local government has now become a source of income rather than a source of experience and knowledge for those who seek a position as a councillor.
There are, of course, always very obvious exceptions. Yet there appears to be a push from those authoritarians within council to blame everything from three-year election cycles to the very old Greek process (democracy) that continues to give us a relatively civil society. Regretfully it is increasingly rare to hear any opinion from councillors on issues that inform us all of their contribution to important debate.
One opinion to rule us all appears to follow the now-accepted norm — along with the false narrative of the need for diversity, which is simply delusional.
It is not the fault of democracy that it can result in the election of representatives who cannot perform at governance level, especially when they are responsible for the administration of vast sums of money and assets. Can all councillors read a balance sheet? Board members of large companies must show competence to their shareholders before being elected. Councillors in local government simply show some appeal prior to the election cycle.
The minister will now be well aware of the recent in-house review of local government. The review was conducted by what could reasonably be described as an institutionalised panel of former councillors who watched it evolve to its present sorry state.
Residents of Central Otago now have our elected mayor (and others) calling for a review of the governance structure of local government due to a belief that democracy cannot remain in its present form. That point of view completely undermines the very process of democracy that mayors are appointed by, and have been sworn in to uphold.
A mayor is, in reality, simply the spokesperson and ceremonial head of a council, yet they see themselves as the only source of truth within council, and appear to dominate discussions /debate.
Elected councillors cannot remove a mayor. Elected regional councillors can remove their chair. It is completely unacceptable to have a mayor fail to represent the view of their ratepayers — or at least attempt to seek a mandate for his/her personal point of view.
The Three Waters reforms are but one example of the need for change, and soon.
On returning to Rome, Julius Caesar paused before crossing the Rubicon River. If he crossed the river with his army, it was in effect a declaration of war on Rome.
He is believed to have said "Alea iacta est", or "let the die be cast".
Our new local government minister needs to make a similar declaration to implement promised change.
- Gerrard Eckhoff is a former Otago Regional councillor and was a two-term Act New Zealand list MP from 1999 to 2005.
