Submission tips for Regular People

How can we get more people involved in making submissions? Most councils generally hear from a smallish group of regular submitters. Hearing from more people will give councils a better picture of what their communities want. 
 
Two of our planners, Lucy and Jen, and their friend Emma held a “How to make a submission” night in Featherston. A lot of people came along and had some great discussions. The best bit was that they left feeling that their opinions matter, and that councils want to hear from them on annual and long term plans. Here is what the trio shared with the community.

How to make a submission
Once every ten years, councils review their District or Regional Plans to make sure the policies and rules are still doing what they were made to do. A lot of what is already in the plan cannot be changed as the council has legal obligations to carry out central government policies. However, much of the plan depends on what the ratepayers want. This is where you can make a difference by making a submission on the plan. Good submissions help the council make good decisions that reflect what their communities want to do.  
 
Submission forms and copies of the plan that show the changes being proposed should be available on the council website, at local libraries, and in the council offices. 

What goes in submissions?
Making a submission on the plan change is an important way for all of us to communicate with the council. If you would like to be involved in the council’s decision making, here are some points on making a good submission.
 
Your submission should definitely include:
  • A list of the parts of the plan your submission is about
  • Whether you support or oppose those parts, or have neutral feelings about them
  • The decision you would like the council to make on each of those parts
  • Any new ideas you want added to the plan
  • Whether you want to speak at the public hearing or not
 
To make it even better, your submission should:
  • Be clear and concise
  • Be written in plain English
  • Aim to help the council make decisions
  • Offer reasons why you support or oppose a section of the plan
  • Provide alternatives to the sections you don’t agree with and the reasons why the council should consider your suggestion
  • Explain the benefits your new ideas would bring to the district
  • Use facts and figures whenever possible
  • Not be offensive
 
Before you make a submission you can discuss any of your new ideas with council officers to see if they think they are feasible. Consider getting others interested in your new ideas and make a group submission.
 
Many people only make submissions when they disagree with something in the plan. You can feel neutral about the plan and still make suggestions. It is also important to submit on things you agree with as well, to let the council know which parts you definitely want them to keep. 

A real life example
Emma came along and shared her actual experience making a submission on an Annual Plan. Emma's advice to other regular people really put them at ease and gave them the confidence to make their own submission.

Emma shared:

"Anyone can make a submission to the Annual or Long Term Plan. It’s important to know you can just pick and choose what you want to talk about too. My experience comes from submitting to the Annual Plan but it’s a similar process to submitting on the Long Term Plan and here’s what I recommend:
  • Don’t be daunted by the paperwork. Read the Annual or Long Term Plan summary first and pick out things you agree or disagree with, then read the detail on those. Life’s probably too short to read the entire document – especially if you’re just picking and choosing pieces.
  • Last time I picked three things – one I agreed with and two I disagreed with. I think a mix of both is useful because if you don’t speak up then Council doesn’t know how you feel.
  • Keep your submission to the point. It’s useful to write sentences that start, “I agree with ___ because ___” or “I disagree with ___ because ___.”
  • Never underestimate the value of clarity or the word ‘because.’
  • Give clear reasons – saying you like something isn’t a clear reason. Saying “I agree with X because it will help me be safer biking down a dangerous road and I think that’s a good spend of money,” is a better reason.
  • Picture the people reading your submission – it’s hard for them to tell whether you’re a raving lunatic or not so make it easy for them. Overly emotive submissions or ones that get into petty fighting and name-calling won’t help you.
  • I found it useful to think about my points for a couple of days before sending them in just to have time to make sure they were clear and that I’d said everything I thought was important.
 
Once I’d made my submission the most amazing thing happened… I’d forgotten about it, but received a letter from the council outlining what I’d said and what the Council had agreed to do about it. It was a great way to get closure and feel that I’d been involved in having my say on what I found important for our community. 
If you'd like specialist training or need a hand with community consultation, we can help!