It’s fair to say that we all love nothing better than to complain about what gets up our collective noses right?  

Whether it’s the weather, a perennial go to over a cuppa with friends or the cost of living; we’ve all got something to say – and we love letting others know how we feel.  

But there’s a big difference between whingeing to your mates and taking that step forward towards action that’ll make a difference. Although there’s not a great deal any of us can do about the weather; other issues that simmer close to the surface have got many of us taking photos and demanding action from our local councils.  

Good luck getting any action out of Upper Hutt or Wellington City Councils. But there’s a massive difference around the country about what we complain about, and the timelines taken to get things sorted.  

Some of the regular offenders on the list for councils to deal with are things like neighbour's trees impinging across boundaries, overflowing rubbish bins, and stuff mounting up around charity clothing bins. 

The ‘Snap Send Solve’ app used by councils across the country received 106,979 reports over the course of last year. If you’re a photo snapper of offending situations, I’m sure you’ll know about this avenue for complaining.  

Wellington features with 273 complaints relating to water leaks, along with the associated photo evidence. Northlanders sent in 383 snaps and complaints about their pothole collection. 

You’d think Auckland would be up there with the biggest number of complaints to council, right? Wrong. Auckland sent in 10,198 complaints to council. The biggest city of whingers turns out to be… wait for it… this may shock the pearls of your necklace… Christchurch.  

I was as shocked as you are! Yes indeed, Cantabrians sent in a whopping 10,833 complaints to their council. The stuff that got up the noses of the good people of Canterbury were broken water pipes, graffiti, tree issues, and potholes too.  

Now of course, some councillors will say that some of these complaints were unnecessary, and some were genuinely useful; my message to you is simple: don’t stop whingeing!   

When you see something that’s broken, overflowing, or graffiti where it shouldn’t be – which is anywhere you see it – get stuck in! Take those photos! Fire up your councils ‘Snap, Send, Solve’ app and lodge it all with them.  

If we continue to slip into this insidious malaise of ‘she’ll be right’ lackadaisical stupidity, then things will only get worse. I’m sure there’s nothing more a council would like to see than having no complaints to deal with.  

Pick your battles though. Don’t use this as a means to create your own version of war with your spiteful neighbour from hell… the one who always plays The Bee Gees at full volume when they’re on the gin and tonics, late into the night.  

We shouldn’t tolerate graffiti. We definitely shouldn’t tolerate valuable clean water running down the road. We’ve been conditioned to accepting mediocrity over recent years. If we don’t complain, why should we expect anything get better? 

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