This week's decision by Tauranga City Council to improve public access to the recordings of council meetings highlights a difference in political styles.
Murray Guy has come under fire because he speaks up, something for which Murray is unapologetic.
'They tell me I ask the most questions, Mike Baker tells me that,” says Murray.
'The reason I ask questions is because I believe that's my role as an elected member. I make the assumption that if I can think of a question I'm not the only one who would want to know the answer.”


Tauranga City Councillor Murray Guy.

It's a path Murray says often brings ridicule or insults from fellow elected members, but that is just part of the environment in which city councillors work.
'In my previous term as an elected member, I was very close to not standing again, in part because of that reason,” says Murray.
'You have got to be able to laugh at yourself.”
He voted in favour of upgrading the recording system because Murray believes the community has a right to know what questions their elected members are asking and which way they are voting.
The council has decided to buy and install rack mounted solid state recording hardware. It produces high quality audio, the recordings can be downloaded by file transfer protocol and points of interest can be marked on the audio track and tracks named.