In this Frontline interview, I talked with Whangarei Mayoral candidate Ken Couper for an hour...all about local government. But don't wander off, because it was a conversation not just for Northlanders--we covered issues are of nationwide importance: poverty, co-governance, pollution, dairy farming, rising rates, the role of central government, the repeal of 3 waters, the collapse of chronically unmaintained local infrastructure, the anti-fluoride/anti-vax/anti-mandate fringe and the politicians who harvest them for publicity, showmanship vs substance in politics, the Haves vs Have-nots, unemployment, cost-of-living crisis, local apprenticeships, generational poverty, windfall profits, and education.

The conversation goes beyond left and right, and it gives me hope that this dyed-in-the-wool National voter and dairy farmer is still just someone who wants the best for our region and our people. 

There's a message in our conversation that I believe National's upper leadership would do well to heed. The fast-tracking of greed and division is not how you build a better nation --  it's the path to a Pyrrhic victory: a quick win that does little more than tear up the social fabric that binds us together. We need to build a stronger and more humane country for the average New Zealander. 

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And check out: Fabricated Consent, Paul the Other One's helpful primer on what local communities are up against in this year's local council elections.