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The'd be almost all of our local government representatives, or many of them, especially mayors, have had a public persona before they went forward for the role. But is that all it takes? We see Andrew Little has signaled, although he hasn't formally announced, it's probably going to happen tomorrow. It would be my guest that he's going to run for the mayoralty for Wellington. But what do we want to actually want out of our local government? As name
recognition enough anyway? Formal Local Government Minister David Carter joins me. Now, David, good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Tim.
So is it the devil you know that makes us vote for people that we've known in other public roles? How big an issue is this?
I think profile definitely helps. The good news would be trying to get people out to vote in the first place, because the turnout for local government election tier in New Zealand's pathetic. But except that, then, if you've got some profile, you've got to be a chance. That's no doubt about that. And Levandrew Level was to decide a dance name for the Warranted Mayority his profile would be high enough, I think he'd be a very good bet, and frankly, I
think he'd be an excellent beer as well. So profile helps, but it's not essential.
But we can all imagine where we have voted, perhaps for someone who is quite well known, who perhaps didn't turn out to be the mayor that we wanted. How do we actually get good mayors? I mean, because let's face it, if you're a bit of a sports celebrity or something, you know, you're well ahead of the person who might actually know a lot more about it than you.
Yeah, I think that's the point I'm making. If you've got a profile, you'd likely to have more chance of getting there. But bear in mind, once you're on the council table, you're but one vote. So many mayors or many people seem to think the mayor has a more significant role than other councilors, that's not the case. How do we get people who are interested in being local
body politicians, be at a council or a mayor. Let get people who are really accountable for what they're there for, and that is to wisely spend our rate payers money. And that would be a vast improvement if we could get that on many of the councils that I observed.
Are you sort of saying in a way, Look, especially with mayors, it's like they've only got one vote. If you get allowsy one who cares. I'm sorry to be so cnical, but just got it bluntly.
No, I'm definitely not saying that, but I'm saying that once the mayor is elected as mayor, he then only has one vote. So if that person is an extremely good mayor but has a hopeless council it makes it very difficult for that person to then perform and show return for his time as a mayor. He is once the mayor is there, he is but one around the council table. How do we get a better quality of person standing to be a councilor or a mayor in the first place?
Well, how do we get the better counselors?
Then?
Do you think or is it just like of the drawer?
A lot of that getting goes back to profile. It's not the most of the warning of careers. I don't think. I think for someone on the left it's an improved salary. For those on the right, they're out there doing your own thing. It's probably a superposed to do it. My own father was on the Crossias City count for forty years. He did it in the time when these guys at that time didn't even get paid to do the job.
There was a true sense of doing it for the right purposes, of doing it because you wanted to improve your city. My observation of the councilor is that we have now many of them aren't there with that focus. They see it as a career. I don't think it's highly rewarded, but probably some people do think it's well rewarded and they make a career of it. And often they didn't use that for stepping stone in the central government politics, don't they.
Or stepping or the other directionists we might say with Andrew Little, I guess turnout. What can we do to improve turnout and engagement in local body politics? Do you think?
I wish I had the answer to that, because I think turn out as pathetic. I think most people just ignore. But I think people feel a bit disenfranchise that they can't make a difference. But frankly, if they were to vote and we had a higher turnout of voters, that
would make a difference. Part of upon now this postal wedding, and of course I wouldn't know where to go and post my papers when they finally arrived in the mailbox, and I have to serve take able to find a mailbox and then I hope like it on New Zealand post clear it within a month that I posted. So it's actually account and vote. The post system now is obsolete.
It's hopeless. We've got to find a better way to get people voting, and I guess we're going to have to go to some sort of online system.
Well, and actually I'm wondering if secretly what you're what you're suggesting is it would it be better if we went back to the day where we just had a day where we all turn up to our local ballot box and vote. What do you prefer? What do you think we'd get more people engaged? Because there's something about seeing the voting booths out there, isn't it. You get this visibility in the community, you get the signs the campaign. You just get more awareness of it, don't you You do?
And if you think back to those days when we did it that way, which now must be twenty plus years ago, if you study then the turnout, because I think they were greater. Maybe one of the solutions. I think it's either of those two. It's either we go online or go back to a polling booth on the day and you get down there and vote. It's either those two solutions. We're going to have to move away from postal voting for sure. Yeah.
What about in terms of just what advice would you be giving to local government candidates to get their message out there? Because look up, I'll be honest, I think it's probably one of I'm not sure if it's the most highly read sort of section of the paper, the local government sort of thing, But how would you get your message out there if you're not known. You've got some great ideas well.
It's back to the name recognition and the agile way of doing is actually just get out there amongst your local community, get your your hoardings up there so people do recognize the name, get out there and do the hard work, actually do the door knocking. It's the way most central government politicians actually get there. They get out there and spend months and months and months wearing out the shoe live and look on doorsteps even if nobody's home.
You can leave a card and say you're there. I think the voters want to know they're going to get somebody who's a worker. And if you get out there and do that sort of hard yards, you'll be recognized. If you've got wander up and knock on one door and speak to somebody, and then the next door there's nobody there, that neighbor will talk and say that particular candidate knocked on those dooors. That's part of the job is a candidate has to be prepared to show there a worker.
What about the party politics side of things? What do you I'm not a big fan of major political parties getting in there, but there are sort of ways people identify themselves as left or right. Do you think we should try and keep party politics out of the local government side of things.
I think we'd be naive to think the party politics aren't already there now. The national party doesn't much to do with candidates, but the Labor Greens units, particularly my city of christ are far more organized and they work well at election time getting their people out to vote. So while they all crane, they're standing is some sort
of independent. Many of them are deeply embedded in party politics, particularly on the left, and they then get the machine Henry associated with the Labor Party and the Green Party working for them.
Do you pay attention and yourself as a voter, how much effort do you go to get your head around who are you voting for.
I'll definitely work on that, but I guess listen, I'll be guided by where I think their politics are, my secret where my politics lie. And I suspect I'll have somebody standing in my bank's minitial award for christ the City Council who's clearly aligned to the Labor Party, and I'll have somebody else who will not be aligned to the Labor Party. Whether that person's aligned to a right I've sent a political party or completely independent, that will
affect my vote. If I get a chance, I'll go and see that person or both candidates perform at some sort of candidates meeting, and I'll be asking questions around amphability for rates and rate increases because local government's got away with murder over the last year. Is it dis bouncing up rates extraordinary levels when we've been living through the cost of living curses?
Yeah, well, gosh, there are some big issues to get your hit around, as a voter, aren't there Hey, David, really appreciate your time this afternoon. Thanks so much, Always appreasure Thanks to cheers David.
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