Yesterday, after a rugged 6 hour, robust debate, when 10 individual minds challenged whether or not to agree the building of the Aquatic Centre, democracy won.

The council was unanimous in its decision to build stage one of the Aquatic Centre.

Candidates from One Kapiti have argued that we are a disfunctional council, that we cannot make decisions and that nothing has been done.

Yesterday those naysayers were proved wrong. The council has shown that good decisions take time, that individual minds can come to a collective position and that the resulting decisions are therefore robust.

Good decisions take time. The process of getting there with total agreement from the community and councillors takes time. This ensures that decisions cannot and should not be challenged.

We have in the last few weeks completed a programme that has been consultative, weighty in the evidence presented and debated thoroughly.

The Aquatic Centre, the water decision, the decision on whether to join the Alliance to try and make the "Sandhills Truckway" work for us have all been taken with due consideration and not undue haste.

Good democracy I say. Robust decisions make by individuals, looking at the evidence and taking the community along with it.

What kind of decision would we have got with a ticket? A 'yes sir, me too sir' solutuion is not democracy.