By Keana Rolleston, Te Puke High School, and Indy Rhodes, Tauranga Girls’ College

Last Thursday we attended the first official business breakfast for this year’s Instep Young Leaders’ Forum 2026, hosted at Tauranga City Council. It was a great opportunity for us to experience how local government decision making works in practice.

We started off with breakfast, and once we had eaten, moved into a mock council meeting. During the session, we stepped into roles such as councillors, mayor, media, community representatives, governance and CEO. It gave us the chance to debate real community issues and better understand the kinds of decisions councils deal with every day.

The two main issues we debated were youth homelessness and public transport fare increases.

When discussing youth homelessness, there seemed to be a fairly clear agreement that stronger support was needed for rangatahi. Although the more effective option was also the more expensive one, there was a shared sense that meaningful change was needed and worth supporting.

The public transport discussion created more of a divide. There were different views around affordability and what increased costs would mean for the community. Community representatives spoke up about their concerns, and the councillors debated the issue from a range of perspectives. In the end, the vote was tied, so the mayor made the final decision.

For one of us, the day was also a personal challenge. In the first mock council meeting, Keana took on the role of mayor.

“At first, I was a bit startled and wanted to leave, however I gave it a go and with the help of Tauranga City Council staff, I found comfort and spoke with confidence and pride.”

That moment made the experience even more meaningful.

“This opportunity was a great experience for me personally, it was a moment for me to step out of my comfort zone and have a chance for me to use my voice, and lead, whilst still keeping my colour in mind.”

As well as taking part in the mock meeting, we also enjoyed meeting Mahe Drysdale, along with councillors and staff from Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

For both of us, the experience gave a much better understanding of how council decisions are made and how many different perspectives need to be considered.

“It was a great opportunity to experience how local government decision making works in practice,” Indy said.

“Overall, it was a really valuable experience that gave me a better understanding of the complexity behind council decisions and the need to balance different perspectives across the community.”

To conclude, this was a really valuable start to the programme for us. It helped build our confidence, gave us a better understanding of how councils come together to create change in the community, and showed us how each perspective brings value to the room.