Older, white men dominate local government like few other sectors – but a small group of young members are not afraid to push for radical reforms
When Nerissa Henry calls for local councils to take over the country's hospital and primary health organisations, she's not ideologising from an ivory tower. "My little poppet's had RSV and been up and down for the last few weeks and I've had two weeks off," she tells me. "It's been quite draining."
Like many younger council and board members, she and her family are living the everyday challenges that government, big or small, must meet. Housing, transport, education, health. "We know our communities the best and where the need would be and what will help," argues the 33-year-old member of Auckland's Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board.
Her baby daughter has been down with RSV for five of the past eight weeks. "Lucy having RSV has been quite tiring – especially for her. The constant coughing and snotty nose irritating her, but the good thing about Lucy was she was still eating, playing and all. The first week was horrible with her not holding down any of her milk or Pedialyte but she’s good now."
When New Zealand's not in lockdown, and Lucy's not sick, then Henry takes her baby daughter to all her meetings. In a sector that is very old, very white, very male and very middle-income, Nerissa Henry is one of a small number of self-described "young elected members" who are trying to change local government. Some of their ideas seem bold to the point of madness to me – but then, take a look at my byline photo. I'm not the picture of fresh-thinking diversity, myself.
Henry and her Auckland colleague Will Flavell collared me early on at the Local Government NZ conference in Blenheim, last month. They asked, why don't you write about diversity in local government? Or more to the point, the lack of it.
And we looked discreetly around the room at all the councillors with their sausage rolls and cups of tea, checking out the Exeloo and e-scooter exhibits.
Elected councillors and board members are aged 60, on average. Three out of five are men, and most of those are aged 64-plus. It is not unusual for local government members to be older than the general population, partly reflecting remuneration, according to a Local Government NZ report. Essentially, making time to serve in local government is easier for those with independent wealth, rental income or investments; it can be hard to fit around a day job.
And what is glaringly apparent, on examining Local Government NZ survey findings, is that younger women gain election in greater numbers than young men, but very soon they are completely outnumbered by older men. Are older women not seeking election, or are they quitting in frustration? That's not clear.
All of this means local government is not very representative of New Zealand's diverse population, nor of the mix of political views. You need to talk to the Young Elected Members, Henry and Flavell urged. You need to hear some of their big ideas for change.
I approached a dozen young councillors and board members, but it took a while to pull the article together; most had portmanteau lives and careers. Henry spent five weeks nursing her sick daughter. Alexandra Davids was busy with her volunteer work at Women's Refuge. Orphee Mickalad wrote: "Things have been a bit chaotic since we reverted to lockdown."
"We’ve been flat out co-ordinating a response and ensuring that our communities are safe," explained Harry Fatu Toleafoa. "I play the role of teacher, housekeeper, chef, councillor and head of marketing all at the same time," replied Invercargill's Alex Crackett, despairingly.
Carterton deputy mayor Rebecca Vergunst wrote back: "Would normally be keen, but I am having a baby any day now – hopefully tomorrow!"
"I have cried in the council chamber. I have been frustrated to the point of crying. I have been angry to the point of crying. But I don't think the conversations I was part of then would be happening now."
– Bonita Bigham, Te Maruata
Bonita Bigham is one who knows better than most those challenges of breaking into local government. The South Taranaki District councillor, from Ngaruahine and Te Atiawa, was 39 years old when first elected. For the past five years she has been chair of Te Maruata, the national collective of Māori in local governance roles and has seen the struggles not just of Māori, but also of other minority groups braving the old boys' clubs.
She remembers being frustrated to the point of tears in the council chamber. The first conference she attended, she could have counted the number of brown faces on one hand. There was overt racism. "For a long time I wondered what the hell I was doing in this space. I nearly said, I'm out, this isn't for me at all."
But she was persuaded to stay, and is glad she did – because she believes things are beginning to change.
"The fact that women tend to exit the sector doesn't surprise me," the 50-year-old says, "because there are still some of those lagging attitudes that we see across all sectors and all industries. The women who hang in there and get to senior positions, deservedly, are the exception rather than the rule."
"It's been starting to change in the last 10 years, which is really awesome. We're recognising that retired Pākehā businessmen don't have the monopoly on knowing what's good for our communities, and never did. But they've never been challenged – until now.
"The younger demographics coming through, whether they're Māori, Pākehā, Pasifika, Asian, are far more open-minded, far more community-focused, far more accepting of diversity," Bigham says.
"Here in Taranaki, for instance, it's really rare to hear anyone call the mountain that "E" name any more, and if you do it's someone from that older Pākehā demographic who refuse to let things like that go."
For a long time, Bigham argues, local government has been dominated by those seeking to protect the status quo, because those seeking change haven't recognised its importance. "Our people haven't recognised that local government is where changes happen for our everyday life.
"Every time you turn on the tap, every time you flush the toilet, every time the rubbish man comes round, the hours your library and swimming pool are open, those everyday occurrences – that all happens at local government level. We can influence it.
"This may not seem like much to others, hearing almost every speaker get up and start their korero with a mihi or a greeting or some words in Māori as their first language – I thought that was immense."
A diverse group of young members held a session at the Local Government NZ conference, and will hold their own national hui in October, lockdowns permitting. They point out that though the numbers of elected members aged under 40 are low, they are slowly improving – up from 6 percent in the 2016 elections to 14 percent in the 2019 elections.
And with challenges like the long-term effects of the global pandemic and climate change, they hope the 2022 elections will attract even more young leaders impatient to help their communities and the environment.
So what are the changes they are seeking? Like the young representatives themselves, their proposals are diverse.
Local hospitals takeover
By Nerissa Henry, 33
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, Auckland
"My experience having a baby this year has been amazing with the whole being able to Skype-in option and working from home.
That is amazing for representation of young parents in local government. But local government should be paid more and be classed as a fulltime job. Many of us do this as full time hours but we all have second jobs just to survive really. Living in Auckland and doing this work does not reflect what we get paid and the time we put into our community.
A huge issue for our sector is health ... I think we would have a great argument for local government to be more involved or take over the DHB space, as we already do a lot. That's the effects of our community being high deprivation, high needs, high respiratory and eczema problems.
I also like the idea that we have more localised control of things. Areas like smokefree public spaces, education promotion, prevention programmes, pregnancy and healthy relationships programmes, education and after birth help, suicide prevention, things we can do in schools on top of programmes we already deliver. Personally, I feel the majority of the community meetings I attend are around things that overlap on the role of DHB.
Council share of GST
By Campbell Barry, 30
Mayor, Hutt City Council
"Structural issues within local government funding means the basic infrastructure issues we face across New Zealand continue not being addressed.
For most councils, rates are the lion share of their income – and increasing them to the level necessary is politically fraught.
This has contributed to significant underinvestment in the foundations that our cities and districts rely on. There has been talk for some time about returning a portion of GST back to the local economies that generate it. I support this idea.
If we earmarked GST funding for infrastructure projects, councils would have far more power to get on with the investment that their communities need.
For instance, the Cross Valley Link project in Lower Hutt has been on the back-burner for over 50 years now. Even though it is crucial for resilience, housing, and addressing growing congestion issues, there has been no progress.
With a share of GST returned, we could have positioned ourselves better to plan and build the infrastructure needed to address growing congestion, particularly as Transmission Gully opens which will send up to 30 percent more traffic through our city.
The 30-year-old sledgehammer, which is our rigid rating system, simply won’t work. If we are going to address long term infrastructure issues, central government must add new tools to councils' funding toolbox.
Guaranteed youth representation
By Sophie Handford, 20
Kāpiti Coast District Council
"Local Government should enhance the mana and well-being of our diverse community, including our youth who will inherit the decisions made now.
Elected at 18, I am more than 20 years younger than the next youngest councillor in Kāpiti. Only several weeks ago did we sign off on our 2021-41 long term plan, the timeframe really hitting home how big of a stake youth have in the outcomes of these council processes.
It is already clear to me that the challenges we face in local government won’t be solved by councillors like me growing up, or growing tired in these institutions. We need to create space and cede opportunity for new thinking, a fresh and future focused approach – out-of-the-box thinking, aspirational and free of constraints. There is so much that’s possible.
So we could carve out a seat on all local authorities for youth under 24, to ensure the voice of the future is uplifted. We could lower the voting age to 16 and develop civic engagement strategies locally for not only young people but the wider community.
The challenges we face are here and now but so are we and so are the solutions. Young people might just hold the key we’ve all been looking for.
A liveable salary on boards
By Dr Will Flavell
Henderson-Massey Local Board, Auckland
"The cost of living in Tāmaki Makarau is expensive especially for those that are starting their careers.
A recent report has ranked our major city as the fourth least affordable housing market in the world.
In the past, we have seen mostly older, wealthy Pākehā stand for council election. This is because they have the money and the resources to put their names forward.
I recently bought my first home in West Auckland. I simply could not have achieved that solely on a local board salary. For most elected council positions, it is not a full-time position. We have to find other employment to live in this city.
This prevents many potential candidates from contesting elections.
If we want to encourage younger people including more Māori and Pasifika candidates to stand and represent their community, a salary that reflects meaningful engagement as well as making high-level decisions must demonstrate this.
Our communities can only thrive we are all represented at the table and so we must continue to break down barriers that prevent participation in local government elections.
Consolidate all public land
By Lan Pham, 29
Environment Canterbury
"For a transport network to work, it needs to be a single network, with a single set of rules. Public land should be the same.
It’s called the Road Reserve and we rarely think about it. But it is in fact one giant piece of interconnected land, in the form a great web that spans the entire country and allows everyone to access our roading network. I think it’s high time we do the same with our public land.
Most public land is chopped up into hundreds of thousands of different titles owned and administered by various public agencies. A patchwork of disjointed management, confusing access, ambiguous or inappropriate tenure, and little in the way of public-focused purpose. The land is often leased (usually for marginal grazing) with land information that is conflicting, outdated and a nightmare to manage.
In this climate and ecological emergency, one helpful policy response would be for all public land (whether it be regional, unitary, city or district council, Land Information NZ or the Department of Conservation) to be consolidated and repurposed for the public good.
If all these land parcels were linked, we could use them much more effectively for public benefits such as emissions reductions, biodiversity corridors, public access, recreation and more. Why? Because this land is our land. Public agencies are entrusted with administering it on our behalf, and there’s huge opportunity for them to do so in the public interest.
Public land for public good – not stepping on too many ungulates’ toes, is it?
Central Govt to take over roading
By Orphee Mickalad, 30
Palmerston North City Council
"As our cities and districts experience population growth, it is becoming increasingly challenging for territorial authorities to fund infrastructure projects that will accommodate such growth.
For decades, councils have experienced chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, and it’s quite common to see key roading projects pushed out or shelved largely because of funding.
Councils are, for the most part, strapped for cash. Our roads are left congested or degraded. This has particularly been the case in my own city of Palmerston North, where the council has had to constantly change the timing of key roading projects in the long term plan, as well as delay work on dangerous stretches of roads and safety improvements on street intersections due to funding; the 51 percent NZ Transport Agency subsidy to carry out road improvements is not always guaranteed.
It has become clear to me that the funding regime is not fit for purpose, and does not deliver greater efficiency. And in light of the current local government reforms, I cannot think of a better time to fix this funding and financing issue, by centralising the building of roads and maintenance.
The government’s Three Waters Reform Programme acknowledges councils are not able to manage their water services efficiently. The government track record of centralising and amalgamating institutions (like polytechnics and DHBs) leads me to expect the building and maintenance of roads could be next in the government’s quest for centralisation.
An honest and hard conversation determining who is better at doing what between central and local government needs to be had.
Centrally-funded youth programmes
By Alexandra Davids
Chair, Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board, Christchurch
"One thing that pops to mind initially would be funding for engaging our tamariki in programmes that can be run during or outside of school time.
The funding would be made available to councils from Government, to be distributed equitably to local boards and community boards.
We do have discretionary funding, however over Covid we saw a greater need in a lot of our communities and it has become harder to divvy out funding especially when council does not necessarily see itself as having to cover costs for the Ministry of Education. Yet we are closer with our communities and see the need first-hand for different forms of activities for our youth to connect and educate them and help them to face challenges we may not have faced in prior generations.
The Community Board executive had the opportunity to sit with Minister Mahuta a couple of years ago to discuss the fact that local representatives are working face-to-face with communities. While a top-down approach may be appropriate in getting streams of work up-and-running, our communities are not the same and are at different stages of preparedness.
I believe for local government and democracy to thrive we need to not continually reinvent the wheel when we have knowledge we can share. It’s really just a different way of communicating with our communities.
Councils represented on Upper House
By Moko Tepania, 30
Far North District Council
"I envisage local government reform that will empower all layers of government in Aotearoa New Zealand to work together more cohesively.
One of the ways to achieve this would be to give local government a veto over central government legislation. This could come about through the reestablishment of an Upper House of our Parliament made up from a sitting representative from each of the 78 councils that make up local government.
That way any legislation that the Government would want to pass in the House of Representatives would also have to be passed by at least half of all councils before becoming law. Smaller rural councils like the Chatham Islands or Kaipara would have the same voting power as metro councils like Auckland or Christchurch.
It would also encourage electorate MPs to work more meaningfully and constructively with their local government counterparts. Current select committee processes do not empower local government to effect meaningful change before bills are passed.
Finally, local government will be recognised as a true layer of government in our country, and not just a department of Wellington to be tasked with regulation and compliance without the financial resourcing to do so. The people will have a voice and the people will have power!
Mandatory civics education
By Harry Fatu Toleafoa, 33
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Auckland
"I once sat down with several secondary school students from a nearby high school and asked whether anyone understood the roles and functions of local government. I was greeted by silence.
Their response was symptomatic of my wider communities' understanding of local government as a system of democracy that operates in an ethereal realm far removed from their daily lives.
In an electorate where we have the lowest voter turnout, highest levels of deprivation, unemployment, transience and low skills – the priority is to survive. There is limited clarity or understanding of what local government is and how it can be used to better serve our communities. It is a mere afterthought that is further constrained by a deep distrust of the state, reinforced through intergenerational trauma caused by colonisation, state abuse and the Dawn Raids.
Education plays a pivotal role in addressing the lack of understanding and engagement in local government. Civics education should be a compulsory feature of the school curriculum – well before they leave high school and are of voting age. Children need to feel empowered from a young age so that when it comes time to participate, they feel willing and able to do so.
It has long been held that state and the church should be kept separate. However, in our electorate, churches are an integral institution in our community. The church serves as a hub for youth engagement, cultural preservation, and leadership development. Effective partnerships with the churches could provide a sound avenue to demystify local government as well as ensuring that there is proper engagement with our community.
However, these partnerships should happen year-round and not just during election time. These partnerships are relative to each community and the state should identify these key institutions and develop relationships as they are already trusted by the community. This could include community organisations, iwi groups or local marae depending on the area.
Aligning land transport funding
By Sam Broughton, 39
Mayor, Selwyn District Council
"The Future for Local Government review needs to provide for sustainable funding and local delivery of transport infrastructure and services.
That means aligning timing of decision making between areas of government. Transport investment is currently set by 30 year plans within local councils, giving certainty of work and long lead times for procurement and delivery of contracts. The first three years of these plans have a lot of detail and allow the community input into priorities.
But central Government changes its funding formula every three years in the Ministry of Transport and only confirms its co-funding with councils through Waka Kotahi two-to-five months after our councils have been required to confirm their long term plans.
Councils this year are being told to only expect 80 to 90 percent of the co-funding required, which means our national roading network is not being maintained, let alone improved. This is no way to run our land transport network.
An example in Selwyn: Due to Waka Kotahi not funding the amount of works required to keep our roading network at an acceptable standard we have funded an extra $1 million locally through capital value rates to cover some of the work. We don’t currently have the ability to fund any other way as local taxes are not allowed, and our per household charge is already at the maximum legislated level of 30 percent of general rates.
Aligned time frames and sufficient funding are a must. If national funding is short we need the ability to set local taxes that are not based on land ownership. Fuel taxes, road user charges, congestion charges, or extra vehicle registration costs applied locally could all be used.
The Future for Local Government Review should allow joint long term decision making between local and central branches of government that plans an improved land transport network to our communities with sustainable funding mechanisms to deliver it.
