Farmer Manifesto offers sound advice to aspiring councillors

Federated Farmers has released its first ever Local Elections Manifesto for aspiring council candidates and local council voters.

“New Zealand’s 85 current local councils collected in rates last year, enough money to fund the New Zealand Police more than two and half times over. For many farmers, rates are now among their biggest working expenses,” says Don Nicolson, Federated Farmers President.

“The vital role of councils has been underlined by the Canterbury earthquake. Basic services are taken for granted until the likes of water, wastewater and roads are suddenly lost.

“Our local councils also control assets worth nearly $99 billion with debts of around $7.5 billion. Every aspiring councillor needs to understand, the huge governance role they are seeking election to undertake.

“Candidates need to understand that rates are not there to fund ‘dreams and schemes’, but come from the hard work of property owners. This is the reason why Federated Farmers believes its Manifesto is a positive contribution to the 2010 local authority campaigns.

“It provides both candidates and voters a yardstick to assess policies, pledges and positions. While there’s naturally a rural dimension to the Manifesto, the points are pretty much universal for urban and rural voters alike.

“What we want to see emerge are councillors committed to sound and equitable policies. Yet to get them, voters actually have to vote.

“In 2007, only 44 in a 100 voters opened, completed and posted back their vote. You can’t help but suspect that most of the people who ‘demand’ more be spent on local services, come from the other 56 percent who never bothered voting.

“It’s a major reason why farmers must vote in high numbers to ensure quality candidates are either elected or retained. Yet it’s doubly important to ensure these candidates understand the concerns of farmers and have the wherewithal to do something about them.

“While the system of funding local government is badly flawed, a bold council can take positive action that will make a real difference to the amount farmers and property owners pay in rates.

“Good councillors should focus on what the core job of their council is, no mater how unsexy it seems. It means resisting the ’dreams and schemes’ of interest groups who are quick to spend other people’s hard earned dollars,” Mr Nicolson concluded.

The Federated Farmers 2010 Local Elections Manifesto is available by clicking here.