What’s on in council this week by Shannon Dowsing

Published October 05, 2020 3:07PM

Nearly a year has passed since our local elections and it seems we are busier than ever, however this week is a rare break from scheduled council meetings and I’m sure both the staff and the councillors are happy to take a break from the reports that consume our time. Personally, I am excited to be able to attend some of the Tairawhiti Arts Festival events and take my daughter to the fabulous light installation in Marina and Kelvin Parks.

Fortunately, we are not short of political entertainment with the general election in full swing and a well-contested by-election running simultaneously. Both will have an impact on our council’s decision-making, with various policies to be implemented by whoever is successful in leading the country and a new colleague who will change the dynamic in chambers, add insight from their communities and bring personal experience.

I’ve been surprised at the number of lobbying groups involved in the referendums, something that is less familiar in New Zealand where we don’t see this level of money invested to try to swing a decision one way or the other. I’m not in favour of a big marketing budget influencing decision-making, so hope that everyone takes the opportunity to seek independent information on these issues, I hear Karen from Facebook knows all about it, or you could try referendums.govt.nz

I took some time out this weekend and met with friends on Waiheke Island, an unusual experience in 2020, travelling and gathering. It gave me an opportunity to reflect as I considered the surgical masks we all wore and the QR codes hanging everywhere. It seems a long time ago now that we were discussing the potential of 2020, it was being referred to as “the year of perfect vision”, we certainly did not get what we expected. I think “2020, you won’t see this coming” would be closer to the year we have had.

With my additional role on Trust Tairawhiti, a business to run and tonnes of exciting events to attend, I cannot wait to get started on the week ahead. I truly hope everyone takes the opportunity to enjoy the arts festival — running until the 11th, there is truly something for everyone so jump on tetairawhitiartsfestival.nz and check out the line-up.

Shannon Dowsing