I spent 16 years as a senior lawyer with the Porirua Community Law Centre.
Many of my clients, often consulting a lawyer for the first time, expected me to have all the answers.
I had to disappoint them, at least initially, because human lives, fact situations and the law quickly combine to produce very complicated scenarios. So I had to pick things apart by asking precisely targeted questions before I could see the problem. Only then could I give good advice. Lawyers are no smarter than most people, but we are good at asking the right questions and being persistent.
I have nothing but admiration for the people who serve on the City Council and devote their time and energy to making Porirua a better place to live.
I worked in the Law Centre because I had a law degree and it seemed a good way to use it. Now I think I may be able to use my skills and experience analysing some of the problems which face us as a community.
Councils play a huge role in the lives of ordinary people – infrastructure, water, building consents. And their strength is that they are run by local people – dedicated, generally competent, attuned to the needs of their community, responsive to change. But central government is now making legislative changes which councils will struggle to keep pace with.
Many health, housing, and infrastructure requirements are being decided at government level, leaving councils to deal with implementation, and increasingly this transfers costs to ratepayers. I believe that, as a consequence, councils will need to stick to core community services and do them well.
We will have to ensure our sports fields, libraries, parks, pools, and core infrastructure services are maintained, as we are unlikely to receive much funding from central government.
But it is crucial for the wellbeing of our city that we try to keep up with legislation, ask good questions and be prepared to push back when necessary.