Luke Kirkness: Newly elected councils need patience and participation

Voting elections local papers Photo / Laura Smith

OPINION:

There is plenty of newly elected leadership in the Bay of Plenty.

Rotorua, Western Bay of Plenty, Ōpōtiki, Whakātane and Kawerau all welcome new mayors and there are new councillors elected and incumbents re-elected.

It is no doubt an exciting time for them - and heartbreak for those who missed out.

But after the euphoria dies down the big issues facing our region will need to be tackled with a fresh sense of purpose by our new local government leaders.

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The cost of living is causing plenty of headaches, we're trying to get back on track after Covid-19 flipped life on its head, inflation has increased and there is a risk of recession.

Crime, poverty, illegal drugs, and gangs still plague the region. Infrastructure is a problem too, with some poor-quality roads and not enough houses for everyone. And then there's Three Waters.

Temporary solutions to problems such as housing resulted in the emergency housing motel debacle in Rotorua which is possibly causing more harm than good. This will be a major issue for new Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell and her new-look council to get to grips with.

But one can be forgiven for thinking most people in the region don't have an interest in these important local matters though.

Fewer people voted in the weekend's elections than in 2019, and while the numbers three years ago were dismal as well, a declining voter base is concerning.

Turnout results as of Monday showed voting had taken a hit across the region, with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council participation plummeting from 43 per cent in 2019 to just 26 per cent this year.

Voter turnout dropped for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council too with 37.3 per cent compared to 39.1 per cent in 2019.

The exception - just - was Rotorua where 46.6 per cent voted compared to 46.4 per cent in 2019.

People might think voting in local elections won't bring about any change but I believe that couldn't be further from the truth.

The decisions made locally influence people hugely at a local level, from rates, roading, the look of our CBDs and what major projects to spend money on.

These decisions and many others councils make have major impacts on local people.

Of course, this doesn't mean that our newly elected councils will not be in the spotlight.

Councils are still going to cop abuse from upset locals about any number of issues but it's going to take more than the swish of a magic wand for these new councils to fix everything.

They have a great deal of work ahead.

If these councils are to have any chance of being deemed successful in three years' time, they need the public to engage with them better than they voted.