Muddling in a pool of (govt.) uncetainty

By Adrienne Staples, Greater Wellington Regional Council

Sadly, the festive season is well and truly behind us and the wheels of local government are turning again, albeit slowly, as we navigate the bumpy roads in front of us this year.

The change of central government has produced wailing and hand wringing from some and jubilation from others. The altered direction in many policies and priorities is vast, provoking letters to the paper and meetings organised to fight back some government proposals.

Local government though must work with whatever central government is delivered by the voters but has been muddling around in a pool of uncertainty since the election last year, as it comes to

grips with what the changes mean for councils.

Two previous government proposals, regionalisation of both water infrastructure delivery and planning management have both been canned and we are again looking to more localised models.

This has drawn a sigh of relief from some councils. But the problem is that the current ways of delivery for both were no longer fit for purpose and it is far from clear how this matter will be addressed.

The shift in focus from cycleways and road safety to fixing potholes will also be welcomed by many in Wairarapa given the distances many of us must drive to carry out our daily lives. Environmentally though, we cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore the need to reduce our carbon emissions.

Finally, the elephant in the room remains the reorganisation of local government. The discussions are back on the agenda on both sides of the Remutakas and so they should be. The problem is though, without good leadership around the matter, the conversations always fall to who would be mayor and where should the council offices reside? 

Both are actually irrelevant and we should be discussing what is the best model of local government for Wairarapa to function as a strong, cohesive region in its own right.

So back to our bumpy roads. Classic cars are beautiful. They’re lovely to own, bring out on a fine day and give a good polish before you put them away. 

To navigate modern-day Wairarapa, however, we need power steering, anti-skid braking, side intrusion bars, air bags and hands-free – none of which are available on the model we run.