The Star: January 27, 2022

The Star Thursday January 27 2022
14
OUR PEOPLE – CELESTE DONOVAN
A passion for making a positive difference
Celeste Donovan might
not have a Pier People
bumper sticker on her
car, but New Brighton
and the remainder of
the Coastal Ward are
close to the ear of the
city council’s newest
elected representative.
She discusses her first
couple of months
in local government
politics with Chris
Barclay
You grew up in Sumner and
then moved to New Brighton,
so you’ve always been a seasider
by the looks of it. Have you
always been attracted to the
water?
I grew up doing surf lifesaving
from five to 14. At that stage I
was quite competitive. I also
played rugby for the Sumner
boys’ team. I was a flanker. I was
a little bit dirty, I’ve got three
brothers so you had to learn to
stand your ground.
Have you ever lived inland?
I lived in Wellington for a
while and Dunedin, which I
guess are both coastal too. I
lived inland in Japan, about 45
minutes from the coast.
How did you end up in Japan?
When I graduated the
first time [from Canterbury
University] in 2004, like a lot
of Kiwis I thought I’ve got to
get out of New Zealand and get
some international experience.
The Japanese have the JET
[Japan Exchange and Teaching
Programme] where you could
teach English. I did that for
three years. I was teaching in
an international high school
and there was a lot of high-level
curriculum stuff so it was a good
opportunity to get something
quite rewarding out of it.
Where was the school in
relation to Tokyo?
I was in a place called Fukui,
which is known for its nuclear
power plant and crabs. It’s a
couple of hours from Osaka.
If you were living closer to the
plant you got an extra stipend
but I wasn’t close enough. We
used to joke about it, we thought
it was really strange. No one said
no. I was 23-24 so I wasn’t too
worried about anything.
Your Japanese is ozappana
(sketchy) these days, but you’re
still proficient in another
language. When did you learn
to sign?
Sumner Primary and Van
Asch College had a couple of
teachers looking to integrate
sign language into mainstream
classes. Our class was effectively
a trial so we learned sign
language from the age of five or
six right through to the end. One
of my good friends, Nirvana, is
profoundly deaf so I know how
bad my sign language is when we
met up.
Regret not going to London
instead of Japan and enduring
Sunday sessions in The Church
or giving the Circle Line pub
crawl a crack? Oktoberfest?
A little bit, but only because
the world’s changed. I started
to do more travelling in the last
few years. I was aiming to do a
trip a year. I’d been to Europe,
I went to India and then Covid
hit. A previous job was based
in London. I worked remotely
[in Christchurch] but I had
an opportunity to visit my
employers over there and tacked
on some trips.
Any locations stand out?
Amsterdam. I only spent
2-3 days there but I liked their
approach to public transport, the
fact you can bike everywhere.
I just found it a really easy city.
Berlin was the same. I had a train
pass so you got to see it through
their public transport systems.
Norway was great as well.
Back to work business. What
was the job with the HQ in
London? Sounds interesting.
I worked for Vertic. They
work on international treaties
around disarmament. I was
doing research into the legal
implementations of treaties
around North Korean sanctions.
That indicates an interest
in politics and a global view.
BRIGHT FUTURE: New
Coastal Ward councillor
Celeste Donovan is
upbeat about the future
of the New Brighton Mall
shopping precinct. The
mall was popular when
it was the only shopping
location in the city open for
Saturday trading.
When did that interest develop?
Were you on the student council
at Linwood High School?
I think I was on it but I wasn’t
interested in politics at all, I
played snooker at high school.
I went straight to university
and tried to figure out what I
wanted to do. I kind of wish I
went travelling. When I went
back [to UC after Japan] I did
international relations, a bit of
international law and politics. I
had another bite at the apple and
did masters in the same area,
looking at New Zealand’s foreign
policy. We had 9/11 when I was
at university and I was doing
American politics. It was just so
topical to be studying something
when it’s happening. I kind of
got drawn into it.
Your focus has subsequently
narrowed to local government
after three years working
alongside the Green Party in
Parliament. Tell us about your
time in the Beehive.
I was working on helping
develop a lot of the outreach
campaigns in the community
for things like climate change
and housing. I was employed
by Parliament, although I was
working for the Greens. I worked
a lot with [List MP] Eugenie Sage
and [co-leader] James Shaw. He
had a strong interest in areas
I was focusing on like youth
engagement and climate change.
Like dad Brian you became
involved in the New Brighton
Residents’ Association when it
returned after a post-earthquake
hiatus. Did that experience
prompt your successful bid
to replace James Daniels as
councillor for the Coastal Ward
when he stood down?
The more active you are at
a community level, the more
you can see the value of local
government and the impact it
has on people’s everyday lives.
In Wellington you can work at
a policy level which does have
a broad impact. I guess I have
a passion for having a positive
impact on people’s lives.
• Turn to page 16
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