It’s a time for cool heads around the council with the coalition government announcing big reforms to local government and the Resource Management Act.

Council staff have been doing a great job in communicating the gist of these reforms to us councillors, in a series of workshops, as more is revealed and the implications and the work ahead is better understood.

All this is going on as council carries on with its planned activities, which lately has included things like making amendments to the gambling bylaw, and looking at the open spaces policy.

All of these things affect the lives of the people in Mid Canterbury and are facets of the community that anyone can have a say on.
Democracy isn’t just for voting time and it isn’t just for homeowners.

If you’re a resident here, you drive on the road, use the EA Networks Centre, turn on the tap, or kick a ball around a sports field then you have the right to have a say.

Councillors are involved in regular workshops when they’re given the information they need in their decision-making, most are public and you have the right to observe the process.

So, that’s my invitation to you - empower your decision-making and understanding of what council does by taking a look.

On a personal note, I’ve been thinking a lot about how easy it is to have our outlook on life skewed by the onslaught of bad news and voices telling us what’s wrong in the world.

Fortunately, since being elected to the Ashburton District Council, I’ve had the opportunity to see there are many people who care about others and are putting that into action in our community.

Most recently, I chaired the Safe Communities steering group, which is made up of many organisations in Mid Canterbury, and hearing what they were all doing in the community was an excellent foil for all the stuff that we hear is “wrong”.