Creative Coalition on opposition to the proposed removal of the 'four well-beings' (social, economic, environmental and cultural) from the Local Government Act, and guidelines to make a submission before 26 July 2012.

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In March 2012, the then Local Government Minister Dr Nick Smith (current Minister is Hon. David Carter) released Better Local Government, a report that announced an eight point reform programme for local government:
“The reforms are aimed at providing better clarity around the role of councils, stronger governance, improved efficiency and more responsible financial management.
They are part of the Government’s broader programme for building a more productive, competitive economy and better public services.”

The Better Local Government Report heralded the Government’s intention to introduce legislation to Parliament to enable and address the reforms. The first four points in the reform programme are addressed in the Local Government 2002 Amendment Bill 2012, which was introduced on May 30, 2012 and had its first reading in the House on 12 June. Currently the LGA 2002 Amendment Bill is at Select Committee stage and the submission process is open, with a closing date of 26 July 2012.

The nature of the Local Government 2002 Amendment Bill (‘The Bill’) is that it is a series of amendments (changing of words, deletions and insertions) to the existing Local Government 2002 Act (‘The Act’).

Why this piece of legislation is significant:
Principally, the Bill proposes the removal of the ‘four wellbeings’ which are a cornerstone of the existing LGA 2002 Act. The ‘wellbeings’ are referred to throughout the Act as: social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeings.

In the current Act, the purpose of local government is defined as:
The Bill seeks to remove the requirement for local government organisations to work to support and promote the well beings through the functions and purpose of local government, and replace (d) with
“provides for local authorities to play a broad role in meeting the current and future needs of their communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions.”

Generally the Government regards the reforms proposed in the Bill as a way of minimising the rates burdens on households and businesses, and is part of their reform packages across all sectors to cut costs and increase efficiencies.

Creative Coalition strongly oppose the removal of the four wellbeings from the Local Government Act 2002, as proposed in the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill 2012, for the following reasons;

1. Doubts over efficacy of the proposed reforms contained in the Bill
2. The wellbeings are not driving the growth of the range of activities undertaken by local authorities, nor are they significant drivers of costs and budget blowouts
3. The four wellbeings are drivers of growth
4. There is no duplication of cultural services between local and central government, and the private sector
5. Special risks for Auckland
   Auckland’s local authority governance structure is unique in structure in comparison to other local authorities in New Zealand, at this time at least. The provisioning of services in the region is undertaken by three interrelated, yet separate types of local bodies: Auckland Council, the governing body; Local Boards; and Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs). Each of these bodies delivers a range of public services to the region’s ratepayers.
   The wellbeings are one legislated-for tool that the Council has to ensure that a range of activities and services are prioritised and delivered on by the CCOs, for the public good, in the commercialised structure of the CCOs.

See the pdf attached for a more detailed analysis

Making a submission: The closing date for submissions is 26 July 2012.

The committee requires two copies of each submission if made in writing. The address for written submissions is: 

Committee Secretariat
Local Government and Environment
Parliament Buildings
Wellington 6011 

You will need to pay postage to send your submission.

Contacts for Committee Secretariat, Local Government and Environment:
Phone:  04 817 9523      
Fax: 04 499 0486

Emailed submissions can be sent here.

If you would like to appear before the committee to speak to your submission, ask to do so in your written submission and provide a daytime telephone contact number and an email address.