January 14, 2012

When Peter Reveley stood for the Ashburton District Council in 2004, he believed the council could be doing many things in a better and more frugal way. This week he resigned from the job and shared with reporter SUE NEWMAN his reasons for stepping out of the public spotlight.

Peter Reveley became an Ashburton District Councillor because he wanted to make sure ratepayers got a better deal for their money.
He stood on the rural ticket for the Methven-Hinds Ward, but he adopted a district-wide approach to council business.
And the council is a business, one that could be running a lot more efficiently and one that could be run a lot more frugally, he said.
Seven years later, fed up and frustrated, he's decided to call it quits.
He's resigned mid-term, but that was a strategic move, made in the hope that his replacement will be looking at a seat around the council table for several terms.
"I knew I definitely wouldn't be continuing after this term but I also realised I certainly couldn't have done another winter.
"I'm too committed on the farm."
He has 10,000 lambs arriving to winter over as well as a large number of cattle.
"I've had a dream run with Rhonda and my son looking after the place, but it's now just too busy and when you look at the council, no-one's indispensible."
During his seven years as a councillor, Peter has rarely been a yes-man.
He's often been the one who has challenged during debates and as often gone against the tide when votes were cast.
He admits he's probably earned himself few friends along the way, but says he didn't stand for council for friendship.
He stood in the belief that he could make a difference.
Seven years on, he admits nothing much has changed. One man alone can't change the world.
Yes, he's frustrated, but he takes a quiet pride in knowing he's caused a few fellow councillors and council staff, some frustration too.
He makes no apologies for his style – asking questions, poking in corners and refusing to accept simple explanations.
And he makes no apologies for the number of times he's spoken out against common thinking around the council table or the times he's voted against spending ratepayer money.
"I know I've annoyed staff to the point that they said, here's that bloody Reveley again."
He was a strong opponent of the new art gallery–museum complex.
"I was against it when it was going to cost $3.5 million, I was against it at $6.3 million and I know at the end of the day it will end up costing this district more than $8 million. The $6.3 million is just for the shell."
He fought hard to have the project shelved, but he lost and, like all councillors, had to go with the majority vote.
Rather than pouring millions into that facility, Peter wanted a mere $100,000 set aside for extensions to the inner town cycleway to provide safe passage for cyclists from one end of the town boundary to the other.
He didn't get many supporters.
That cycle and walkway would have linked the town and eventually become part of a greater district cycleway, Peter said.
He's frustrated that he gained little support for a project that would have wide community use.
The successes that came from those seven years around the council table were few, but he counts Mayfield's new well as one of those.
"I dug my heels in there against council staff and council and got that well so that Mayfield people wouldn't be on stockwater supplies forever.
"It took more than three years and it can get pretty nasty if you go against the council flow. You don't make many friends and you can only do that for so long."
Over his seven years on council, Peter has watched the growing pressure of council work steadily erode his personal time.
He knew he'd had enough when in mid November there wasn't a spare day for the remainder of the year on the meeting calendar.
"Yes, I've been the voice of dissent. I've voted against a lot of things and I haven't won many.
"I'm a conservative farmer. I run a business and council needs to be run as a business.
"I look at those seven years and I know I got very little done because I was running against the stream."
Peter looks at the year ahead and says that with the big ticket items on the agenda he doubts that this year's rate increase will be less than 10 per cent.
"It's time for someone else to go in there, someone who can, perhaps get things done.
"Someone who has the time and someone who won't get fed up and frustrated."
He's not bitter. It's been a good seven years. He's learned a lot, but now he knows he's got his life back.
He doesn't want a pat on the back for anything he's done, he just wants to get on and do his own thing on his own patch.
He wants to focus on the farm that is his life and his livelihood.
"I'm really enjoying farming now. I started out at 18 with 100 per cent borrowings to buy the farm and now there's no debt.
"I'm looking at having a few good years on the farm and enjoying that.
"This week already, I've spent three hours in the garden three nights until it was dark.
"It's great."

Pictured: Back on the farm fulltime, retired Ashburton District councillor Peter Reveley with granddaughter four-and-a-half-year-old Maddie Page.

Photo Tetsuro Mitomo