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Tara Forde, Motueka Community Board member
December 12th, 2009
By David Armstrong
(First published in The Guardian)
One of New Zealand's youngest local government politicians believes in possibilities, positives and grass-roots democracy - and learning the art of listening.
"Young means being open to seeing what's happening and what could be," says Tara Forde, one of four elected members of the Motueka Community Board. "I know that involves a lot of hard work - I'm realistic about that. But I believe in the possibility of change. I haven't become disillusioned yet," she laughs over a pot of tea in Hot Mamas' cafe garden.
Tara was just 22 years old when she was elected two years ago to represent the Motueka ward in its dealings with the Tasman District Council (TDC). She recognises that in this job and at her age there is a time for advocacy and argument, and a time for listening and learning.
Acknowledging that she's rarely short of a word or an opinion, she accepts that on the community board, sometimes she just has to sit back, listen and learn. "There's so much experience and knowledge out there that I want to be educated about. It can be a difficult challenge to balance the desire to learn more and the desire to advocate for how I see things.
"I've learnt to shut up sometimes, which can be difficult for an opinionated person," she says in a frank assessment. Tara moved to Motueka from Wellington five years ago. Uninspired by the remoteness of university from "real life experiences", she chose a town with so many pluses to live in.
She has just completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and law, which was hard given the amount of travel she had to fit in around meetings. During her degree she often used TDC as her example to study the role of community boards. "I appreciated learning the history of local government organisation. I think I've got the best of both worlds, combining the reflective practice through my studies and academic life with the practical knowledge of seeing how communities actually work and how people work together."
Her interest in local government was fostered by being part of a family that was interested in politics and current affairs - "we discussed it around the dinner table, and read the papers each day" - and her parents' strong religious ethic of serving others.
"In my short experience of the world, I've seen that I'm lucky in the life I have the opportunity to live. At law school, I'd sit in at court and parliament quite a lot and I realised that there are heaps of people out there who can't read, who struggle to put food on their kids' table. I'm concerned that all people should be able to live a content life and have enough food and do something meaningful.
"I'm motivated by wanting to be involved in shaping the world." She quotes Katherine Mansfield: "This tragic optimism is my only youthful inheritance".
She acknowledges what she has learned from community board chairman, David Ogilvie. "He consistently works so hard and he does it in such a principled way. He's always patient with people, he always listens, and then he follows through with what he says."
With her strong views, she recognises the potential for disagreement. "It's not a bad thing to disagree with people. I've grown through sitting around the table working with people I disagree with, still respecting them and hoping they still respect me too.
"It's easy to oppose things, but I find it much more meaningful to actually work with people, hearing their concerns, and working towards positive projects and outcomes."
Tara is a strong believer in grass-roots democracy, and that people should be more involved in the decisions that affect them. She just wishes the district council would delegate more to the community board.
Tara will begin a Masters degree in Public Policy in February. She is coy about her plans for later next year, when local body elections are due. She may stand again for the board, or stand for the TDC, or get some form of community-focused job or advocacy work.
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