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Otago Daily Times

A sad sign of the times

It's a perennial question which becomes even more insistent at this stage of the three-year cycle: Why would anyone want to be a local body councillor? Many who sit back comfortably and let someone else do it undoubtedly have inklings as to why they wouldn't get involved. Thank goodness then for those who are courageous or foolhardy or even egocentric enough to want to have their names out there publicly. Like in all politics, serving as a city, district or regional councillor comes with a heavy price to an individual's privacy and ability to live as a regular citizen. Walking down the street at the weekend, enjoying being part of an anonymous throng and simply running errands, going out for a quiet meal or a few drinks with mates it all becomes nigh-on impossible, particularly in smaller communities. And then that banter from the public on your "day off" turns into something more annoying, complaints from a resident about rates rises or the drains outside their house, money being spent on cycleways or something which isn't even a council but a central government responsibility. Before you know it, that has turned into overt aggression. Angry people in your face, leaving repeated and intimidating messages on your cellphone, even knocking on your front door and threatening violence, because they didn't like the way you voted on something. Some years ago, you might have read about such actions overseas and tutted. Unfortunately, it's here now as well. Back to that question of why someone might want to stand as a councillor. For the status, the kudos? Possible, but unlikely. For the money? Also pretty unlikely. For the chance to make changes for the better for one's community? Most likely. When people engage with such altruistic intentions, it seems even more egregious that their personal safety should be jeopardised. Yet this is what has been increasingly happening around the country in recent years. The South is not immune to such childish, worrisome behaviour. Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan has had angry constituents at his door, while Clutha district Lawrence-Tuapeka ward councillor Jock Martin received a threatening voicemail message calling him the n-word over rates relief for Mâori land. Abusive behaviour has also been directed at a Central Otago District Council representative. Elsewhere, three-term Nelson mayor Rachel Reese was confronted by a man with a nail gun inside her house. Nobody should be subjected to such vitriol. Councillors are not always going to be able to make decisions everybody agrees with. Mr Cadogan says times have changed, and not for the better. When he was elected as a councillor in 1998, he says such behaviour would have been "inconceivable", but now it happens regularly. Local Government New Zealand has now approved a home-security allowance for elected members to offset potential personal harassment. Councillors are entitled to up to $4500 to install a security system with another $1000 for annual maintenance. This is a good idea. It should never have got to this stage, but our councillors deserve to have an extra layer of protection in such angry days. We have to hope that ongoing harassment and intimidation simmers down and does not put people off standing for local councils. New era for science? After many years of discussion and complaint about New Zealand's old and creaking public science sector, and unnecessary competition, much-awaited changes kicked into life this week. Gone are the seven Crown research institutes. Instead, we have a refocused CRI in the form of the Public Health and Forensic Science Institute and two mega-sized public research organisations, Earth Sciences New Zealand and the Bioeconomy Science Institute. The alterations are long overdue, given the CRIs were established in the 1992 science reforms. However, it remains to be seen how much will really change. The New Zealand Association of Scientists warns the new PROs statements of purpose make it clear the three are still commercially oriented, "just bigger". The concern is the two big new entities could end up feeling more like the supermarket duopoly than the solution to the country's research needs. Time will tell.