Column by Councillor, Geoff Hayward
This week, councillors-elect met with our senior staff to talk about the next three years: what we want to see, what we bring to the table, and what we’ll need to make it all happen.
My message was simple: Get Sh*t Done. (Apologies for the language, but sometimes you have to be that blunt before people pay attention.)
There’s a lot that I would like us to focus on, and plenty of work ahead, but the first rule of politics is to count: I am only one person around that table, so you have to bind like a scrum with others if you want to see change. It was heartening to see how much common ground there already is across the table. There’s a sense of shared purpose that can take us a long way if we stay focused on you, not ourselves.
The biggest challenge we face isn’t whether the ideas are good or the policies sound. It’s how we move from good intentions to real delivery. Too often councils get stuck in the theatre of local politics: the lines, the posturing, the same old arguments reheated from term to term. I think most people are over that. They don’t want drama; they want delivery.
If we’re serious about earning the trust of our communities, then we have to resist the clichés that play out around council tables across the motu. We can’t hide behind the easy line that “rates are too high” and use it as an excuse to delay decisions that should have been made years ago. Everyone feels the pinch, but the answer isn’t to do less. It’s to do better, and to do it together.
It’s also easy to say you’re not political, and then play politics. I mentioned that the phrase “line-by-line review” came up in the election campaign more frequently than the lines on Clint Eastwood’s face. We can’t afford that kind of performance. Porirua deserves substance.
We’re here to make decisions that matter: to invest wisely, to act fairly, and to show people what progress looks like. That takes courage, collaboration, and a bit of good humour along the way.
Now, this isn’t an appeal for kumbaya around the council table (a phrase I am going to credit to my colleague Kylie Wihapi), and I know that trust has to be earned, not declared. The plan I put forward with my colleague Josh Trlin during the campaign hasn’t changed: no surprises, no tricks, just action. That’s why we put our focus for the next three years out early in the recent election campaign.
Here’s my two cents: if we do this right, Porirua will continue to be a city of opportunity, inclusion, and pride. Not just for now, but for generations to come.
So that’s my message for the next three years. Less posturing, more progress. It’s time for GSD.