Bay of Plenty councils' strengths, weaknesses, highlighted in local government review

A Tauranga City Council meeting, held in Regional House at Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Photo / Andrew Warner

Capping the number of times a person can run for local council is one of the suggestions of Bay of Plenty representatives as part of a wider New Zealand local government review.

The Review into the Future for Local Government began in April last year. It aimed to identify how the local democracy and governance system needs to evolve over the next 30 years to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and environment and actively embody the Treaty of Waitangi partnership.

Yesterday, the first local insights into an interim report from the review were presented to and approved by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Strategy, Finance and Risk Committee.

The Ārewa ake te Kaupapa: Raising the Platform report referred to the significant pressures resource management and three waters reforms imposed on councils and the "mistrust" between local and central government. It also referred to the limited capacity for some councils to attract quality staff and elected members. A lack of public satisfaction was another factor.

In the Quality of Life Survey 2020, just 30 per cent of respondents said they were confident in council decision-making, and 31 per cent believed the public had an influence on council decisions.

During the review's first phase, a panel met local authorities, iwi and business leaders throughout New Zealand, including the Bay of Plenty, to gauge what could be done better. Early feedback from local authorities, between June and August last year, helped form the basis of the interim report.

Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby. Photo / Andrew Warner

Council representatives worked in small groups, writing down their views on their existing strengths and successes, and what opportunities local government should focus on to help community wellbeing in the short and long term.

Bay of Plenty representatives listed local knowledge, accessibility and advocacy as key strengths in regards to representation and governance but identified the need to move from a representation role to a governance role. They also highlighted the desire to better enable communities to become resilient and move away "from profit-driven monopolies that do not give back to the community", and to limit the number of terms an elected member can stand for "to encourage turnover in representation and challenge elected members".

Planning on infrastructure, addressing social issues, addressing deprivation and climate change were other areas local representatives were keen to work on.

Financial responsibility and prudence were listed as strengths but representatives noted the local government sector was "severely underfunded" and needed evidence-based,
equitable and sustainable funding.

The representatives highlighted options such as receiving GST from local rates; a mechanism for social funding such as a nationally charged wealth tax; and increased use of funding partnerships to enable local government to have a greater role in housing.

In the committee meeting, held over Zoom, councillor Jane Nees raised concerns at a future crossover between local and central government. She questioned whether the "local government" review needed rebranding to just refer to a "government" review alone.

Councillor Stuart Crosby, who is also president of Local Government New Zealand, responded saying: "It's become blatantly obvious that it's not just about local government.

"Irrespective of the outcome [of the review], it will reflect on central government as well.

"It's something Local Government New Zealand will take up with the panel but the name aside, there are certain issues in looking ahead from 2023 when the panel presents their final report. There's no doubt that any change will require a change from central government perspective as well.

"We will just have to watch this space to see how this pans out."

Within the next few months, the review panel is expected to meet every council in the country with plans to establish a series of regional conversations for iwi and hapū to ensure there is an opportunity for diverse perspectives to be heard, and contribute to the review.

A draft report will be taken to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta by September 30 with options and recommendations before formal consultation begins. A final report is expected to be presented to the minister in April next year.