Editorial: Should there be a time limit on councillors?

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

Venerable Whanganui councillor Sue Westwood is likely to step down at the October local body elections after many years sterling service.

In fact, according to the Taxpayers' Union, she has given 31 years to local government.

The Taxpayers' Union is a lobby group that gives a "voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power" and it usually concerns itself with central government spending and the more extravagant affairs of the Auckland super-city council.

However, this week it took a look at local government and put forward the interesting proposition that there should be term limits for local councillors as a way of promoting fresh thinking in city hall.

The president of the United States only gets a maximum of eight years, but Doug Truman of the Grey District Council has enjoyed 48 years in a seat of power, making Ms Westwood look like something of a young pup. Elsewhere, Ruapehu's Graeme Cosford has notched up 30 years, as has South Taranaki's Ross Dunlop.

Not to belittle the efforts of these stalwarts or the value of their institutional knowledge, but the union's idea does have some merit. If you haven't effected the changes you want after, say, three terms - nine years - are you ever likely to achieve them?

It seems some councillors, having mustered a bedrock of support in the community, hang around a little too long, and that may be stifling fresh blood from getting on to the council.

Here in Whanganui, we so far have three young guns putting their hand up for election - Josh Chandulal-Mackay, Daniel Harding and Matthew Urry - and they should be encouraged to have a go as it is one way to, hopefully, get greater participation from the young.

At the start of this month, according to the Electoral Commission, 344,205 eligible voters were not enrolled for the local body elections - and, of that number, more than 60 per cent were under 30 years and nearly a third of them were in the 18 to 24 bracket.

In short, it is hard to get young people interested in local politics but perhaps our fresh-faced trio (plus any others who throw their hat in the ring) can stimulate greater involvement. Certainly social media, which will become much more prevalent in the upcoming ballot and, for some, may be the difference between victory and defeat, should help the cause of increased participation.