Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

I know that there are some people that don't have a very high opinion of councils, council staff, or elected officials. This was borne out recently by a Colmar Brunton study on the reputation of local government across New Zealand. The research showed that only 43 per cent of the general public think we are relevant to them in their daily lives and only 45 per cent would be likely to talk favourably about local government to their friends. There are lots of reasons for this.

Local government costs money and people have many things they would rather spend their money on than rates. It is also very hard to please everyone all of the time. Inevitably council priorities may differ to those of people in the community because council has more information on which to base their decisions. Councils also have regulatory powers which can make them unpopular. And highly publicised instances of councils who get it wrong tarnish all of local government.

A key issue is lack of awareness and understanding of what local government delivers to the community. Much of what councils do contributes to our quality of life.

Regional councils manage natural resources in our environment - our water, air, land, and biodiversity. Civil defence, river flood protection schemes, and public transport are other key services delivered by the regional council. City and district councils provide much of the infrastructure like water, sewerage treatment, roads, parks and reserves, and stormwater management - to name just some of the essential services they deliver.

Imagine your home and your life without water and waste treatment or environmental protection.

Perception is everything and local government has to address its flagging reputation. We need to raise our performance as a sector. We need to show we are providing good value for rates spent. We need to develop trust in our ability to make good spending decisions. And we need to tell our story well.

If you have views on this or any other issue, you can email me at neesj@xtra.co.nz or phone me on 07 579 5150.