Editorial: Council change brings fresh ideas from Wairoa to Tararua, Hastings and Napier

Andrew Austin, Editor Hawke's Bay Today.

By Saturday night we should have a fairly clear idea about who will represent us on our local councils for the next three years.

With retirements across the board and the emergence of some interesting contenders, there may be a raft of new faces around our council tables from Wairoa to Tararua.

That is not a bad thing because with change comes fresh ideas and renewed energy. A consistent message we have been hearing in the build-up to the elections is the need for change.

It is a low level rumble at this stage, but it may manifest itself as a loud roar on election night.

The perception is that some long-serving councillors need to move on, which may be unfair to some of them, but could still have a dramatic affect on the results.

It has been good to see the fierce battles in the different wards. Some say that it has got a bit nasty but, unfortunately, that is politics. The temptation to play the person and not the ball has been too great this round, which shows how important getting on the council is to the candidates.

Water is the big issue across many of the contests, with the regional council elections seemingly coming down to whether or not a candidate supports the Ruataniwha Dam.

It should give us a clear idea of what the public thinks of the dam and, in some way, be a mandate for the new council to either proceed or look at ways of pulling the pin. I suspect that voters from Wairoa to Central Hawke's Bay have a very different take on the issue, depending on what area they live in.

But that is how democracy works and I am sure we are going to get a few big surprises in all the elections.