Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner sunlive.co.nz

The local government election silly season drew to a close with no clear change or mandate for any alteration in council's planned direction for the coming three-year term. With Greg Brownless retiring and Hayden Evans and Mike Baker losing their seats, there have only been three changes to the last council.

Newcomer Tony Christiansen and past councillors Larry Baldock and Terry Molloy have filled the gaps. Before the election mayor Stuart Crosby had predicted little change and with no single prominent election issues, voters were left with little to focus on. Rates are, of course, a perennial issue, as is keeping the city functioning. The coming term will focus will be on what can be delayed in the 10-year plan, what can be deleted and how to maintain the rates balance in all of that.
During the election campaign a couple of candidates waxed lyrical about next year's ‘rate increase' of 17 something per cent. This won't be happening and never was going to happen. It was a rates revenue requirement as part of a 10-year plan, provided certain works were done in year three. That's not going to happen and works will be phased to fit with what can be afforded.
Change has little effect
The Electoral Commission's drastic change to how Tauranga elects the council had little effect on the election outcome. You will recall the commission summarily lopped three seats off the ‘at large' component and created three new ward seats no-one had asked for. The commission was made up of Labour Party hacks Grant Kirby, Sue Piper, an ex-Wellington city councillor, and Gwen Bull – rejected chairperson of the Auckland Regional Authority. It's a mystery why prime minister John Key and the National Party left them there wielding absolute power, with their target given no right of appeal.
The good, the bad and the nasty
When the new council gets sworn in we all have to sign warrants undertaking to act in the best interests of the entire city, not just a ward. The election campaign was good and bad, clean and nasty. The rising star that is the internet provided some entertainment that was very helpful considering most people write under pseudonyms. Some were cowardly candidates hiding behind anonymity and a few had more than one pseudonym and were writing to themselves. Some of us stopped following this nonsense early on. One pleasing aspect of the campaign was the surprising turnout by members of the community to public meetings. Unfortunately some of these meetings were not well run and dragged on unnecessarily, with voters leaving before they ended. Two hours of listening to candidates' two or three-minute speeches is enough for most. Candidates asking other candidates questions can be a self-serving waste of time, and this needs looking at.
Promises, promises
Many candidates promised that they would do this or that, demonstrating a lack of understanding of how democracy works. No-one, including the mayor, gets to do anything without the support of five other elected members.
Some gave displays of arrant nonsense as they attempted to create issues over council's financial position and the Southern Pipeline project. Coincidentally Audit NZ gave an council's handling of finances an ‘excellent' rating. The Standard and Poors credit rating agency indicated they would be raising the city's credit rating and a $70 million bond issue by the city treasury was filled in two days. This shows the people who know about these things have no worries about Tauranga's financial well being and they knocked the wind out of the doomsday merchants.
Pipeline needed – and soon
Likewise, the Southern Pipeline doomcasters failed to gain traction. I'm the first to say it would be better not to have to build it. But as the wastewater and sewage keeps on coming, interspersed with spikes of illegal stormwater flows, we don't have the luxury of time to wait for new, affordable and perhaps non-waterborne waste disposal methods. Drinking water and wastewater services are the essential core services around which every other city service revolves. Without them we couldn't live long in our urban environment.
They said it…
Some tidbits from the election trail: Mayor Stuart Crosby was asked what he was going to do about the ‘dysfunctional' council. He responded with, 'What are you going to do about it? You elected them.” He was then asked to name the dysfunctional councillors, but declined. Candidate for Otumoetai Pyes Pa ward Graham Skellern jumped up and said, 'I will – it's Pick 6.”
Candidate at large Richard Moore stunned some with his statement at the Mount Progressive meeting that 'I'm not a politician, I'm a journalist and I hate politicians.” John Robson's outburst at Baycourt with the ‘f' word left the audience disbelieving what they had heard. Two things you don't do in politics are bad language and dirty jokes. John also stated at another Baycourt meeting that he was the greatest brain in the room – and the biggest pain.
No reason for excitement
With a voter turnout of about 40 per cent, no-one who was elected needs to get too excited about their role in the coming three years. From where I sit, the message is ‘stick to your knitting' and make sure what gets done is essential and the cost is best value. To those who bothered to vote, thank-you, and to those who supported me, a big thank you. To those who didn't bother to vote – don't complain. Finally, a big thank-you to those who made themselves available for election. It can be a daunting process and with a few exceptions, it was a pleasure to be associated with you. For the record, the mayor is Stuart Crosby and council will be Murray Guy, Rick Curach, Tony Christiansen, Bill Faulkner, David Stewart, Wayne Moultrie, Bill Grainger, Terry Molloy, Catherine Stewart and Larry Baldock.
Tauranga born and bred
By the way, I believe the ads running in the Weekend Sun under the banner of ‘Voter Empowerment',claiming ‘no political affiliation', were apparently placed in association with local accountant Ian Stevenson – an associate of Hayden Evans. Must have cost a few bob, and to no avail. Oh well, that's the crazy world we live in. Here's something else to ponder. Of the 11 successful candidates, I think Catherine Stewart, Murray Guy, Bill Grainger, myself, Tony Christiansen, Larry Baldock and Terry Molloy were all born in Tauranga. If not, they certainly have a long-term association with Tauranga.