One of the biggest weaknesses in New Zealand politics is an understanding of how our local government works. One of the many reasons for this, might be the number of layers of local governance and the fact that in some areas these have been amalgamated to form – for lack of a better word – super council.
But with National announcing the potential abolition of Regional Councils, the biggest shake up of local government in decades, is the water going to get muddier or cleaner?
City Councils such as Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin are very much focused on ensuring the urban and natural environment are able to co-exist alongside each other. That is the idea. The reality is not quite the same as all are finding out.
District Councils, such as Far North, Ruapehu, Buller, Hurunui and Ashburton tend to be more rural, pro-development to attract businesses and provide for constituents ranging from farmers to townspeople. Unsurprisingly, many have problems with perceptions around council bureaucracy, the use of local government rates and ensuring that essential services are able to be provided for. This is a problem made complex by the fact that district councils often have small – in the case of Kaikoura only 4,000 people live in Kaikoura District – ratepayer bases.
It is Regional Councils that are the least understood. They have to balance the environmental requirements of the Resource Management Act and other legislation against ensuring that businesses are able to operate and services like regional parks, transport and core functions such as ensuring air/water/soil quality, natural hazard management and the coastal environment are all appropriately covered.
Are any of the levels of local government perfect? Absolutely not, and let us have no doubt that changes are necessary. However wiping out an entire layer as this Government proposes to do, all in the name of economic development with no attempt to balance it against the needs of the natural environment is absolutely not the answer. If Regional Councils are abolished, as this Government is proposing to do, then a significant legal bun fight can be anticipated as settled court cases signed by Regional Councils and other parties to them potentially become material for relitigation. This not only relates to the implementation of the Resource Management, but various Regional Plans as well.
My preference is to cut back on the number of district councils that exist in New Zealand. Some of them, like Kaikoura need to be amalgamated with their neighbours, as their ratepayer bases are simply too small to perform their functions effectively. Another council in this group would likely be Mackenzie District, whose population nearly all live in Twizel, Fairlie or Tekapo and which is challenged by considerable service demands for tourists passing through and a growing number of people with holiday houses.
Another possibility is looking at whether more unitary authorities, where multiple layers of council are amalgamated, like Auckland, Chatham Islands and Marlborough. In 2017, Dunedin City Council was contemplating the possibility of a unitary authority. However, other councils, including Otago Regional Council, Central Otago District Council and Queenstown Lakes District Council all raised challenges that saw the mater dropped. It appeared that no consideration had been given to how that might affect the functions of the other councils in Otago, the delivery of services and impact on ratepayers appear to have been taken into account.
But before any of this potentially happens, there is an election to be fought in 2026. And if a change of Government happens, other parties with other ideas, that might not include breaking up the regional councils will come into play.
Leftist Kiwi Writes 