Councillor David Brand

A council that says it can’t do things is useless.

The role of a councillor is to be a fierce, unstoppable advocate. A representative of the voters. Not a risk-averse patsy who timidly gives in without a fight.

This takes courage when faced by the weight of a bureaucracy top-heavy with managers all of whom believe they know better. Or when faced by an obdurate State Government or its agencies. 

Too often we hear councillors say they lack the legal or other power to do something, when it is their job to pursue a way through the fog of inertia and ‘impossibility’.  They must be prepared to fight for community values even against the odds.

I will never give up.

Councillors, not the managers, not the State Government or its agencies, are responsible for the city. It is only they who are answerable to the local voters, who depend on them to guarantee genuine consultation, real transparency, honest answers.

When council retreats behind commercial-in-confidence, or outsources tendering decisions, or offers bland excuses for not doing something principle demands it should, it is in retreat, hiding behind secrecy. This avoidance must end. Local government should be the most open, the most participatory, the most sensitive to community opinion of all levels of government.

This is possible. Council used to be bold, controversial, and progressive. It had brio. It was listened to at all levels. It led the community in the direction the community wanted to go. But over recent years it has lost both its community touch and much of its organisational history. With that it has also lost morale, goodwill, and commitment among staff. And it has lost the interest and allegiance of residents. It is the responsibility of councillors to restore these things. It is they who set the tone.

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