Let's get our whinging out of the way first. Then we'll talk about how to fix this thing.
Local body elections suck. They're boring. They're so boring they make the prospect of flossing your teeth both attractive and urgent. As in, "honey can you fill in your local bodyelection form please?"
"No, I absolutely must floss my teeth right now."
They're boring because they require research. You don't know any of these names standing for council. You don't know if they're left or right or literate.
You don't know where the nearest post box is. You leave the envelope on the kitchen bench. You find it a few days later. You've missed the deadline to post it. You'll have to hand deliver it somewhere.
Every three years. Same thing every three bloody years. Local body elections suck.
So let's get to the heart of the problem here. It's not the crap candidates, the postal voting system, or the absence of a sense of occasion. These things do contribute but they're not the biggest problem.
The biggest problem is that it doesn't really matter if you vote.
Local councils and mayors have very little power. They should have more power, given that they're in charge of what happens right outside our front doors. Problem with the footpath? Problem with the rubbish collection? Problem with the 15-storey building planned for next door? Go to your council.
But, the real power? That all lies with the Beehive.
Auckland is getting a "ridiculous" tram because Wellington decreed it. Photo / File
The Beehive proclaims that Auckland's getting a ridiculous tram down Dominion Rd and Auckland gets that tram. It tells Wellington a desperately-needed, second Mt Vic tunnel is a low priority and Wellington has to lump it. It cancels roads and declares cycleways the height of transport fashion and what can Wellingtonians and Aucklanders do?
Nothing but look on in frustration as their councils and mayors take the spanking.
The reason central government gets to call the shots is because central government controls the purse strings. It decides how the money is spent. The Beehive spends 88 cents in every one of our tax dollars, according to the NZ Initiative. Councils are left with the paltry 12 cents they scrape together from rates and levies. Money is power. He who controls the dollars gets to buy a tram set.
This is the real problem. You and I both know that whoever we vote into council or mayor — John or Phil, Justin or Andy, John or Lianne — it doesn't matter. It won't make a jot of difference because they'll get told what to do by the big boys in the Beehive.
This is what needs to change. Councils should have more power. The Beehive isn't doing a good enough job. It's neglecting regions like Northland while pouring money into big cities like Auckland. It's sending flocks of tourists into places like Queenstown but not building adequate infrastructure to cope. It's blowing $3 billion on a regional sugar hit when regions could probably spend that money more wisely on things they actually need.
There have, of course, been calls for the Beehive to give up a bit of its power and give it back to the people and the Beehive has, predictably, patted us all on the head and told us things are just fine the way they are.
Well, take a look at the likely turnout this election. We'd be lucky if 40 per cent of us bothered to vote. Look at that and tell me things are just fine the way they are.
