Palmerston North's Orphée Mickalad: Wellington work gave me useful experience

Palmerston North City Council wants to maintain the city's vibrancy and prosperity so people and businesses can thrive.

Opinion:

Firstly, thank you for your faith in electing me to represent you on the city council. The
February by-election was my 15th anniversary since arriving in Aotearoa/New Zealand – one of nine in a refugee family who had escaped war in the Republic of Congo.

That was in February 2006. Aged 15, I had few possessions and no English language understanding or speaking skills.

We were warmly welcomed, and Palmy became the place where I grew up, was educated and was first employed.

Since 2016 I have worked in Wellington in the roles of parliamentary staff and policy adviser.

These practical insights into the workings of central government and public service protocols and processes can now be used to directly benefit Palmy.

An understanding of governance, along with an appreciation of policy analysis, relationship building and project management are useful skills to have as a councillor.

It may be tempting to think that local government only deals with the less "sexy" issues such as water, sewage, rubbish and roads, but that is only part of its brief.

The council also has statutory obligations to promote the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of the communities it represents – not only now, but into the future.

This means more than facilitating opportunities for growth and investment or stimulating job creation, it's also recognising the needs of our most vulnerable residents by retaining social housing, promoting disability accessibility and helping first-home buyers.

We want to make our city a better and more desirable place to live; maintaining its vibrancy and prosperity so people and businesses can thrive.

These are all goals set down in the council's vision for Palmy to be an innovative, creative, growing, connected, safe, environmentally sustainable, exciting and, importantly for immigrants, a welcoming and nurturing city.

The council's portfolios and committees are geared towards achieving these goals, and I contribute on the portfolios for the inner city/CBD, housing, and climate change.

I am also a member of the council committees for Arts, Culture & Heritage; Economic Development; Environmental Sustainability; Infrastructure; and Planning & Strategy, where we encourage residents to have their say.

If any of these portfolios or committees deal with issues that interest you, your feedback and input is welcome, with contact and background details available at pncc.govt.nz.

• Orphée Mickalad is a Palmerston North city councillor.