Kate Hawkesby: Local body results reflect the mood for change

I’m pleased that the woeful turnout for the local body elections still at least saw change.

There is a mood for change – a strong one it would seem, and the results should be a wake-up call to anyone left in the Beehive still not believing that people are sick to the back teeth of the establishment.

We are sick of the status quo, we are sick of where we’re at. It was, as one political commentator pointed out, “a bloodbath” for the left.

It’s an early shot across the bow for what we might see come election year next year. The country basically threw out incumbents, the whole country pretty much, bar Wellington, swung to the right.

Auckland for the first time in a decade voted in a right-wing Mayor. What I like about that is he pulls no punches. When the head of Auckland Transport immediately resigned on the back of his win, Wayne Brown's response was "the whole board should follow suit."

This is refreshing. There'll be few Aucklanders who disagree with the chaotic shambles that is Auckland Transport, so he’s off to a good start. And for all the lefties bemoaning the fact he’s white – that in and of itself is racist, the colour of someone’s skin should never be a reason to vote for them, either way.

And for all those bemoaning his age – it seems people actually want grown-ups in charge. The idealogues have been told to sit down.

The only place that went further left was Wellington – electing Greenie Tory Whanau, who said her city better get prepared for disruption and lots of road cones. So she sounds fun.

It’s further proof of the bubble Wellington exists in. It's in its own special echo chamber and much of the reason the Government is so delusional and out of touch with the rest of the country.

Even Dunedin voted in a mayor who campaigned on fewer cycle ways and more car parking, an abhorrent concept to the lefties, but clearly immensely popular with everyone else.

Faith in the direction of this country is dire. We’ve watched our cities get wrecked by public transport theorists, and anti-car warriors.

Crime, which is a national issue, is felt keenly in our local suburbs with ram-raided dairies and liquor shops boarded up.

The country’s a mess. People have had a gutsful.

Arguably no city’s been more wrecked than Rotorua. An absolute travesty that former mayor and Labour Party stalwart Steve Chadwick stood by and just let happen.

So the result I’m most pleased about actually is Tania Tapsell going in there. She deserves it. She makes sense, she’s smart. Every time we've had her on this show she’s onto it, prompt, keen, hardworking and absolutely passionate about her city – which is all you can ask for in a mayor.

It seems those connected to Labour in any way got shown the door - even the candidates personally endorsed by the Prime Minister, which speaks volumes about her brand these days.

So I reckon a great result. Good to see such a movement for change. There's a rejection of the establishment. You watch, Three Waters will be next to go.

I think what the weekend results have told us, is that this Government is on notice.

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