I started writing this piece just after nominations for the 2025 Local Government elections had closed and we were all looking forward to the shenanigans of hard-fought electoral campaigns across the motu – except where we weren’t.
In Taranaki alone, more than one by-election is flagged because there were not enough nominations to fill the spaces available. In other instances where there were just enough nominations, voters were denied the opportunity to make a choice. It appears 13% of the available positions across the nation went uncontested. (Q&A Sunday 12 October)
Where were all the Candidates? I heard the strangled cry. This quickly morphed into Where were all the voters?
In Taranaki I’m beginning to think that those who did turn out to vote should have stayed home. This election is looking like it has delivered towards the southern end of what the vagaries of the democratic process might expose. That is to say a number of candidates who showed great promise have failed to make the cut, while a number of numpties will be sleeping on council seats for the next three years. God help us all.
So back to the missing candidates. There has been much wailing, gnashing of teeth, and beating of breasts about Local Government elections. There has also been ongoing and uncompromising derision heaped upon the sector by a media primed by successive governments, and a bunch of keyboard warriors nastily and noxiously tapping away under the craven cloak of anonymity.
Stick to your knitting, stop being so profligate, stop stymying development, the decision-making process is too slow. HUH!!! Central Government is in NO position to make such an assumption.
Whack on a rates cap. Do away with Maori wards. Well bugger me! The dopey voters took heed and comprehensively did just that not only in Taranaki but across much of the nation. So what does that tell us?
That if stuff gets said often enough it becomes part of the general narrative. That local councils are feeling the pinch and retrenching behind walls of process and bureaucracy; and that too many voters and an increasing number of candidates are motivated by single issues. The “local” is being bludgeoned out of local government and sound decision-making is being subverted by process.
This election tells us that the number of self-respecting New Zealanders with integrity and capability who are prepared to project themselves into an environment where they will be poorly paid for the privilege of regular criticism by central government, and vitriol from others is dwindling fast. Unfortunately, it does not appear that there has been any decrease in the number of nutters, geriatrics, rednecks and misogynists who also presented as candidates.
Sadly, it appears that our collective judgement is no longer capable of differentiating between the two.
Selecting great people to take care of our interests is not a beauty contest. It requires more thought than that. Likewise with providing strong leadership. The best decisions are not always the sexiest. Our incoming community leaders will do well to remember that.