Andrew Tripe says he would prefer to stick with First Past the Post voting. Photo / Bevan Conley
Andrew Tripe says he would prefer to stick with First Past the Post voting. Photo / Bevan Conley
Proposals to tackle poor voter turnout and a lack of diversity at the council table have drawn a mixed reaction from Whanganui District Council members.
The Future for Local Government draft review recommends allowing 16-year-olds to vote, mana whenua appointees potentially sitting alongside elected Māori ward councillors, moving all councils to the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, and higher salaries for councillors.
STV requires voters to number the candidates in order of preference, putting a 1 beside the candidate they like the best, then a 2 for their second choice and so on.
People can vote for as many or as few candidates as they like.
Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe said personally, he was in favour of remaining with First Past the Post (FPP).
"I looked at it very carefully and got my head around it because it is confusing, but I think we should go for it."
As for increased salaries for councillors, Tripe said if it attracted more people and greater capability around the council table, it could only be a good thing.
"I think that (additional) cost would pay itself off with the quality of people around that table.
"At the moment, it's fair to say that if you don't have the flexibility of time and you don't have a nest egg, you're going to find it pretty hard to do this job."
Another proposal was changing from three to four-year terms, a move Craig supported.
"It's costing this country a huge amount of money to hold elections every three years.
"You've barely got a year to do anything effective. We've got to change."
Helen Craig says lowering the voting age to 16 won't solve low turnout. Photo / Bevan Conley
Tripe was also in favour.
"We need to take a longer-term view of how we deliver for our community."
Returning councillor Rob Vinsen said it was the second year of a term where things got done, and that was too short.
"The third year is usually a short year, with an election in October. It's really a wrapping-up time.
"I would strongly support a four-year term."
From a local government perspective, it was an "absolute no" from him regarding a switch to STV.
"When you've got 29 candidates listed and you put a number beside each one, it's just total confusion," Vinsen said.
An independent panel to undertake the review was set up 18 months ago by Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta.
Its chairman, Jim Palmer, said while Māori Wards were valuable, mana whenua appointees were a recognition of the special place of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in New Zealand and would allow for the greater involvement of iwi and hapū in local decision-making.
"We think it's a more nuanced conversation than just 'one person, one vote'," Palmer said.
Tripe said he thought there were those for and against Maori wards among iwi, but the common theme that came through for him was there could be other mechanisms in place.
"Would I like to have Maori around the table? Absolutely, of course, I would. Do we have any right now? No, we don't. That's not a good thing.
"We need to engage with iwi in other ways and build relationships in the way we deliver outcomes for all our community and involve them in that process upfront."
One example was the Whanganui Port redevelopment project - Te Puwaha.
"It's a different way of delivering initiatives and I'm really interested in how that's playing out as a model to learn from, from which we can implement other social and business solutions around town," Tripe said.
Rob Vinsen supports a move to four-year terms. Photo / NZME
Palmer said it was "only fair" that 16-year-olds be allowed to have a say about the make-up of councils.
"Youth use a lot of local government services, whether it's parks and reserves, libraries, playgrounds, swimming pools, bus systems, and there's a growing interest we see in youth in issues that affect them."
But Craig said a recent council survey carried out in Whanganui gave an overwhelming no to lowering the voting age.
"Let's find out why people aren't participating and then change that. Don't lower the voting age just in the hope that it will make a difference."
To increase voter turnout, the council needed to be made more relevant to people, Tripe said.
He was finishing conversations with councillors about having informal locality representation for each member, along with special interest areas.
Demystifying the roles of the council was also a goal.
"I don't think we have helped people understand what the council does and doesn't do, and how the mechanisms work.
"We need to untangle it for people."
New Zealand was a far different place than it was when the architecture of local government was last up for discussion in 1989, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said.
"The draft report is an opportunity to think about how we can create a modern style of participatory local democracy, tailored to the needs of the different places we serve, and resilient enough to face up to the challenges of tomorrow."
Submissions on the draft close on February 28, with the final report due to be delivered to the minister by June next year.
