On The Tiles - Local Edition: Local Government needs an overhaul to survive

The independent Future for Local Government panel released its report into the sector last month, making 17 recommendations. Photo / Bevan Conley

Councils in New Zealand are in a precarious position and require a significant overhaul to secure their future which could include four-year terms, lowering the voting age to 16, amalgamation, and an annual transfer from central government starting at $1 billion.

The independent Future for Local Government panel released its report into the sector last month after two years of work and meeting with every council in the country as well as other stakeholders.

Panel chairman Jim Palmer told Georgina Campbell on On the Tiles - Local Edition, the Herald’s politics podcast, the issues New Zealand is facing are likely to persist and intensify whether it’s climate change, natural disasters, social and economic inequities, or geopolitical disruption.

“It seems living with poly-crisis is becoming the norm. These issues all play out locally and when you add this to the funding pressures facing the sector, the poor relationships between local government and central government, and falling public confidence in democratic institutions- we feel the current local government system isn’t set up for success.”

The He piki tūranga, he piki kōtuku report made 17 recommendations.

One of the themes in the report is strengthening local democracy and leadership. Local voter turnout has declined over the past three decades and a significant proportion of people are not engaged in local body elections. Eligible voter turnout was 42 per cent in last year’s local body elections.

The report recommends adopting ranked voting (also known as single transferrable vote or STV) as the nationwide method for local elections, lowering the voting age to 16, a four-year local electoral term, and a move away from postal voting.

“We are seeing not only the decline in voting interest but perhaps for the arm of government that’s most relevant to people’s daily lives, we’re not seeing the opportunity for people to participate to the extent we would like to see.”

Postal voting has well and truly done its day, Palmer said.

“We can’t possibly imagine a future over the next 30 years where postal voting remains a viable option for local government. While we certainly acknowledge and recognise some security issues about online voting or means of electronic voting, we think inevitably we should see those solved.”

Meanwhile, cost pressures have led councils to increase rates at levels consistently higher than the Consumer Price Index.

The report said these increases are unpopular and have a significant influence on election campaigns and financial decision-making. As a result, there has been historical underinvestment in the services and infrastructure that communities need and that central government requires.

Recommendations around funding include an annual transfer to councils to support local outcomes starting at $1 billion, an intergenerational climate change fund, and central government agencies paying rates on their properties.

The report said the Cabinet should also be required to consider the funding impact on local government of proposed policy decisions.

The panel’s final report is not Government policy nor is the Government expected to respond before the October election.

“But it’s not solely just central government and waiting for the Government,” Palmer said.

“We’ve stressed throughout our report and to the local government sector itself, it’s the local government sector that must take the lead in this. If there is to be change, then they must be the champions for change.”

Listen to the full episode for more about the future of local government.

On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays.