Democracy seems to be in danger in much of the world. Is it because so many feel their votes won’t make a difference? Thank goodness we got rid of First Past the Post for General elections. Local government seems to suffer with even less people voting under FIrst Past the Post, but local government is [...]
If you've ever been saddened by the fact that almost none of your chosen candidates made it onto the council, you should support the introduction of STV rather than the current First Past the Post (FPP) system for our local body elections. Contrary to many people's opinions, it isn't complicated for the voter. The counting [...]
For anyone who follows local politics on Twitter, you may have seen the discussion regarding Boon Street Art Festival and Hamilton City Council funding. It stemmed from a council report recommending that Boon Street Art Festival’s application to the Major Events Sponsorship Fund should be declined. The reason cited by the staff assessor - the [...]
Hamilton housing third-most unaffordable in the country, says new report Well no surprises there! So how come the other side of this coin is local and central government promising ‘affordable’ housing? Real Estate agents proclaiming that $400k will get you a ‘great starter’ home? A bank agreeing that saddling a young couple with a debt [...]
Benedict Cumberbatch said “There's so much in the 21st century that is stymied by bureaucracy and mediocrity and committee.” Council is really an interesting beast - we elect 12 councillors and a mayor who all individually promise to deliver a number of things… (Lower rates, more services and less debt are the three most popular). [...]
It took me fifteen minutes to get to work. And the cost of parking! I was complaining like crazy and announced that it would be so much better if I could just use public transport. Imagine if there was a train! We’d be like a real grown up city! Here’s the thing though. That was [...]
After election, watch and listen initially to see where others stand. Chats over coffee with other councillors can help understand their perspectives and skills. Ask advice from trusted people who know the politics but are not embroiled. Build support To win a vote you need a majority of council to support you, preferably including the [...]
This opinion piece was first published on August 14 2019 on The Waikato University website. Republished with permission. Some people think reports of a greater number of young people standing in the local authority elections represents a “youthquake” in local government. It would be a good thing if it did. Hamilton City had the lowest voter [...]
part/1 It may seem curious that no matter how dissatisfied Hamiltonians are with the behaviour of their city’s Councillors, they rarely vote any of them out of office, especially given that for the last twenty years we have had a propensity for voting out the incumbent Mayor. It is not surprising if you understand the [...]
Sometime around 1800 a (now) famous poet penned the phrase“Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink.” and for a long time this poem was the bane of secondary students throughout New Zealand. It is however quite an important topic when we talk about local government. One of the core services that council provides is water [...]
Sundial in Garden Place, 1979. Hamilton City Libraries. HCL_M00437.15 A recent headline in the Waikato Times "Hamilton's CBD not bold enough" had me nodding my head in vociferous agreement. I’m a very proud fourth generation Hamiltonian. No doubt there are many that think I have reached that generation that talks about the ‘good [...]
This opinion piece was first published on August 12 2019 on stuff.co.nz. Republished with permission. OPINION: Some people think reports of a greater number of young people standing in the local authority elections represents a "youthquake" in local government. It would be a good thing if it did. Hamilton City had the lowest voter turnout [...]
The Politics in the Tron survey asked current councillors to reflect on this term and look ahead to the next. The mayor and 8 councillors responded answering the ten questions in the survey. Four councillors did not respond. They are West ward councillors Henry, Tooman, and Taylor and East ward councillor Mallett. We don’t [...]
This article was first published in the April 2016 issue of NZ Local Government Magazine. Shared with permission. In my experience, potential candidates come at the idea from one of two perspectives: externally driven and internally motivated. These are not mutually exclusive. 1) It’s late summer 2016 and the potential candidate has found themselves at a [...]
Every three years, we as the residents of the city of Hamilton are entitled to vote and elect our representatives for Hamilton City Council. There are a lot of misnomers around this process and election on election, the number of participating voters is in decline. There is no magic reason for this decline, nor does [...]
If you are a fan of lifelong learning you are likely to be interested in the current councillors` answers to the question: “what professional development have you done this term?” Overall, for this three year term our elected representatives` uptake of learning opportunities seems skimpy. Courses, conferences and seminars are an opportunity to learn about [...]
I’ve always agreed with Edgar Allen Poe when he said that false hope was better than no hope at all, especially when it comes to watching election results. And I’ve been very privileged to see those results roll in while talking politics on air at Free FM and when I was writing for the Waikato [...]
Seed Waikato is a movement with a dream to see young people thrive. Led by young people for young people, our aim is to empower youth to connect, contribute and grow. Since launching in 2017, we have developed innovative events, workshops and online education, all focused on strengthening the wellbeing and resilience of young people, [...]
This article was first published in the July 2019 issue of NZ Local Government Magazine. Shared with permission. I am addicted to local government live-streaming. There. I’ve admitted it. (And apparently I am not much fun at parties either…) What’s not to love? For example: the new-fangled ideas, the insightful debate, the enthusiasm and respect [...]
The election buzz is definitely in full swing now and at the time of writing it seems that we already have a plethora of candidates to choose from. I have already been asked by some “who should I vote for?” It’s very difficult to make that decision if all you have to work with is [...]
