Local government report ‘rinse and repeat’, says mayor

Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan says the report into the future of local government feels like a ‘rinse and repeat’ of some proposals she has seen before.

The report was released late yesterday with 17 recommendations. It has yet not been discussed by Waipā councillors, but O’Regan was happy to share some personal views.

“It’s clear the panel believes something must fundamentally change if local government is to do the job it needs to do, and I agree with that. It is blindly obvious there is a funding crisis within the sector that ratepayers cannot be expected to solve,” she said.

“Given that, it’s good to see a proposal that $1 billion come back to councils although that will be a drop in the bucket given the massive infrastructure challenges around New Zealand. I’m also pleased to see the recommendation made – again - that central government should pay rates on Crown land. We’ve seen that before and the government should just get on with it,” she said.

She was not over the detail of proposed reorganisation of the sector, but said she had heard the rationale for much of it before.

“Let’s be realistic. Some of the recommendations around reorganisation are going to be very challenging and some of the commentary is being rolled out again. We know we get the best outcomes when decisions are made in close consultation with our community and I wouldn’t want to see that diluted. Nor am I convinced that creating another Crown department to work with local government is the best way forward.”

At a personal level, O’Regan disagreed with some recommendations.

“I don’t support lowering the voting age to 16 for local elections as has been recommended – that’s my personal view. Nor do I support councils being forced to adopt the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system for local elections. I think that’s a community conversation to have, not something that should be forced upon us,” O’Regan said.

“I do however, support the recommendation local elections should be held every four years, not every three. Given the complex planning cycle and framework councils are required to follow, three years is just not enough time.”

O’Regan said she would read the report in full and digest it before making further comment.

“There’s a lot in there about Te Tiriti-based partnerships and representation I want to fully understand. I also have a lot of questions about some of funding recommendations being made.”

O’Regan noted the report was only a set of recommendations to go to government.

“It’s not government policy and neither of the major parties have any detailed policy that aligns with the recommendations. So if there’s going to be change my pick is that it’s a way off yet.”