From the mayor's desk: Farewells and welcomes for Taranaki MPs

Stratford District Mayor, Neil Volzke.

Well, it's over. The election has been and gone and predictably, the polling has delivered the outcome that has been anticipated for months. Last week using a racing analogy, I tipped a winner, a quinella and a roughie trifecta, collecting on the first two tips but failing with the long shot trifecta that in racing terminology, failed to fire.

The already well documented, stunning victory for the Labour Party, has produced a number of firsts and I ask about another. When, if ever, were the people of Stratford last represented by a Labour Member of Parliament? Answer, never.

On her second attempt to become our member of Parliament, Labour's Steph Lewis won through with a large majority of around 7000 votes. Popular former National MP Chester Borrows and his replacement Harete Hipango must be wondering what the hell just happened.

Regardless of your political affiliations, I think it is appropriate to spare a thought for defeated MPs who right now are dusting off their CVs and contemplating their futures outside of politics. It is a ruthless process for them, one day the world is your oyster and then, at the stroke of a pen, you are unemployed.

What makes this worse is the fact that the decision is largely out of your personal control and often doesn't reflect truly on your personal performance. Your fate is generally decided more by the swing of the political pendulum and whether it moves left or right. At this election, it was more of a lurch than a swing.

Local government is exactly the same and elected members only remain so at the behest of the voting public. In most occupations workers have an annual appraisal that identifies areas for development, but for councillors the only real appraisal is called an election and it can be very unforgiving.

For elected members in central and local government this serves as a constant reminder of what a privilege it is to be elected into office by members of your community. To serve in this way is very special and should never be taken for granted.

One thing that really pleases me is that within the Stratford District Council, there is no party politics. All elected members have stood as independent candidates without party affiliations, something that does occur in some larger city councils. In local government, for me, keeping the key word "local" is vitally important and we don't want to become consumed by debating party politics when the focus should be on our own community wellbeing.

So will the general election result have any direct impact on this council? I don't pretend to know the answer but I do predict that the general direction of travel will be much the same and be much accelerated. As the country continues to battle the effects of Covid-19, the economic recovery will dominate every political decision this term and as a region we need to make sure our needs are heard. Now we have a total of five Taranaki-based MPs I am optimistic we will be heard.

In closing, I couldn't write about the election without mentioning Winston Peters. He has been the dominant figure in New Zealand politics for four decades and his political demise has been cruel to watch. Colourful, controversial, entertaining and influential, he has done it all. His last hurrah has been the NZ First creation known as the Provincial Growth Fund, which has put millions back into the regions, including our own. Sadly for his party this did not translate into votes, meaning the end, at least for now, of his party in Parliament. Thanks Winston, we will miss you.