Nicola Patrick: Value in being heard in the herd

PILLORIED: Hurunui councillor Julia McLean was considering taking her infant to council meetings as childcare costs were not provided.

What's it like being a newly elected regional councillor?

I'm asked that a lot, with many asking the dreaded follow-up questions: "How do you cope with your kids?" and "What are you doing about water quality?"

Both those questions are hard for different reasons, but I'm grateful I haven't got it quite as hard as two other first-time elected councillors, both Canterbury-based women, getting publicly criticised.

Last year, Hurunui district councillor Julia McLean was largely pilloried for highlighting the challenge she faced as a parent of a younger child when she raised the cost of childcare to attend meetings (bear in mind that Julia receives only $19,000 a year in this role).

I knew, going into the election, there would be no childcare provided around the council table.

But I was surprised to learn that I benefit from reimbursement for some of my phone and internet costs (which is already fully covered by my home phone plan), mileage and even some of my time to travel to meetings.

I'm not complaining about those travel expenses being provided for " they even up the playing field for a council that mostly meets in Palmerston North but has councillors travelling from as far as Ruapehu and Tararua.

The question is, how do we level the playing field for the people who also double as the primary caregiver for their children, usually younger women - especially if they are not independently wealthy or don't receive a generous salary?

Is it necessary to take a step back and talk about the value of having a representative democracy where the people who make the decisions increasingly reflect the community they are representing?

This may be red rag to a bull for those who deny the presence of institutional biases and think everyone should just compete as they come.

But our society is not perfectly in tune and there are barriers to achieving a better balance that we can do something about.

I'm pleased to see in the news this week that the Remuneration Authority is now seriously looking at this issue " thanks to Julia putting her head above the parapet.

The second councillor in the news this week is Lan Pham, a freshwater ecologist who was successfully elected to Environment Canterbury while based on the remote Raoul Island during the campaign.

She received a staggering 55,313 votes " the top polling candidate.

She has been criticised for openly disagreeing with some of her council colleagues.

Lan has apparently pointed out the shortcomings in ECan's performance on water quality " in my opinion, that seems more like a statement of fact than an inconsistency with the official view.

The changes in rivers in Canterbury speak for themselves, whether it's pollution making rivers unswimmable and killing fish, massive growth in irrigation contributing to some waterways all but drying up, or examples of public land along the edge of rivers being illegally converted to farming.

Lan campaigned on speaking out for the environment.

Of course, reality strikes once you're elected " it becomes more complicated once you're part of the group, but continuing to disagree is a valid part of a working democracy.

The key thing, as our Horizons code of conduct tells us, is to be clear that we are expressing our viewpoint as an individual and not purporting to represent the official council view.

That's why it's so puzzling to me that Lan has been slammed by one of her council colleagues as she has been following that advice.

It looks like bullying to me from the outside looking in; a clumsy attempt to shut her down.

My advice to Lan and Julia " and to myself " is to keep speaking up even when it gets testy, and to let any personal comments roll off you like water (polluted or not) off a duck's back.

-Nicola Patrick is a Horizons regional councillor, a Sustainable Whanganui trustee and works for Te Kaahui o Rauru. A mother of two boys, she has a science degree and is a Green Party member.