From the mayor’s desk: What does a new Government mean for Stratford and Taranaki?

National leader Christopher Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis during a photo opportunity with their 23 new MPs at Parliament.

OPINION

Right now, Christopher Luxon is a MP but very soon he will be a PM. His meteoric rise from being a member of the public to being a Member of Parliament and then, just three years later, to being the Prime Minister is quite remarkable. It says something about this country and about goal-setting; if you set a goal and work hard enough towards it, you can achieve, and Chris Luxon has.

But now the really hard work begins for him personally and for the newly elected coalition Government. The election campaign was a long, arduous journey full of bumps and humps (aka potholes) and as predicted, had all the drama, claims and counterclaims you could ever wish for. But over the next three years the Government-elect promised change and in Luxon’s words, Kiwis across the country “reached out for hope and voted for change”.

From a council’s perspective, we don’t know yet the details of what change will look like, but rest assured, the promised change is significant. Three Waters Reforms and RMA reforms will be high on the action list, changes to the present direction of the transport sector and infrastructure re-prioritisation will also be highly anticipated. In addition, the commitment to the ongoing challenge of removing red tape and compliance requirements across all sectors will be music to the ears of many, including elected members of councils. In fact, if the new Government is as bold as they say they will be, we could all be suffering from whiplash at the speed and volume of change. One thing is for sure, we shouldn’t complain because the country voted for it and we simply can’t keep going as we have been, things do need to change.

While the final mix of the new Government is still waiting on the counting of special votes, we know that Taranaki has changed colour, but interestingly the region’s representation in Parliament has dropped by three. In the last Government we had four electorate MPs (Bennett, Kuriger, Lewis, Rurawhe) and three Taranaki-based list MPs (Roberts, Little, Ngarewa-Packer). The mix has changed substantially and we still have four electorate MPs (McLeod, Kuriger, Bates, Ngawera-Packer) but no list MPs. Looking into the future, whether this combination will make any difference to the advocacy and outcomes for our region is a great unknown. I am confident each of them is well aware when it comes to dishing out the goodies from Wellington, the people of Taranaki want our slice of the cake too. We are relying on them to deliver on promises made and they will be judged on this in three years’ time.

What adds some spice to this challenge is the tension that exists between being an MP for the electorate or an MP for the party. The first scenario will nearly always win favour with the local voters and the second scenario sometimes won’t. The latter can easily be seen as little more than a career-enhancing move for an individual, but by getting the balance right, both can be achieved. Former MP from 2005 to 2017, the late Chester Borrows was, in my opinion, a great example of someone who achieved this balance and over time he built a great personal following within his electorate but still met his party expectations; well, almost. This meant even when the tide went out for his party, Chester survived, something his two successors Harete Hipango and Steph Lewis didn’t achieve.

A final thought (I can’t help myself), in this election I would argue the award for the biggest loser this election undoubtedly goes to the Greens. Despite Chloe Swarbricks’ euphoric victory speech where she claimed victory and sang the praises of two fellow Green candidates who had won an electorate seat for the first time; adding that the Greens had two more MPs than previously, they are worse off. In case Chloe didn’t notice as they transition into opposition mode, the less flamboyant James Shaw has lost his vitally important, influential role as Minster for Climate Change, which is an absolute body blow to their cause. When this reality dawns upon them, the true pain of being in opposition will become blindingly apparent.