Politics – Federated Farmers propose major shake-up of local government

New Zealand’s local government structure has become an increasingly messy patchwork, and Federated Farmers says it’s time to clean it up.

“The way councils are currently organised is a major factor in how effectively they serve their communities,” Federated Farmers local government spokesperson Sandra Faulkner says.

“The number and type of councils – and the logic behind their boundaries – can really make or break their ability to deliver quality services at a reasonable cost.

“With dedicated water organisations being formed because of three waters reform, things are even more complicated and messy and the structure is failing ratepayers.

“We think the time is ripe to streamline and modernise the sector.”

Federated Farmers has just laid out its blueprint for local government reform in a white paper.

“Preserving a strong local say on council matters while driving better efficiency is at the heart of our proposal.

“Our model will likely also halve the current number of councils.”

Late last year the Government proposed abolishing the country’s 11 regional councils.

Mayors would take over the work of regional councillors and be tasked with putting together reorganisation plans in each region.

Federated Farmers, which has a long history of engaging with councils on rates, infrastructure investment and district plan red tape, stepped up with a simpler and less disruptive way forward, Faulkner says.

“City and provincial areas have different priorities, infrastructure and land use.

“We’re saying the most effective way to streamline local government is by separating provincial governance from governance of urban areas with populations of around 50,000-plus.”

The country already has six unitary authorities, which perform the functions of both district or city and regional councils.

“We’d like to see that model expanded across New Zealand,” Faulkner says.

Under Federated Farmers’ proposal, councils would take on responsibilities currently held by regional councils, which would no longer exist as separate entities.

Many district councils would amalgamate but to maintain strong local input, a second tier of properly empowered community boards and catchment committees could help bring decision-making closer to residents and draw on local knowledge.

“Councils consolidated along regional and city lines would be better able to focus on local, place-based decisions.

“It would also simplify relationships with central government on issues like roading, public transport, environmental management, and emergency management.”

Attracting and retaining high-quality elected councillors and paid council staff can be challenging under current settings, especially for smaller councils.

“We think the increased scale and clearer core responsibilities with our model could help tackle this.”

Faulkner says environmental and natural hazard workloads benefit from scale, with unitary authorities better able to plan and deliver flood management, drainage, and environmental infrastructure more consistently.

“Exposure to climate-driven extreme weather highlights the fragility of the current system,” she says.

The provincial/city-separated unitary council structure also makes sense in terms of geography, predominant land use, and the types of services residents and businesses want.

“It fits well with the ‘communities of interest’ concept that drives Local Government Commission (LGC) reorganisation decisions.

“Instead of substantial upheaval, re-writing legislation, and mayors taking over regional council responsibilities during a lengthy transition, our approach fits with the LGC’s existing way of managing and investigating amalgamations,” Faulkner says.

“During that tried and tested process, issues such as the service relationships between metropolitan and provincial councils, treatment of debt and assets, and crossover matters can be addressed.”

Fewer, more logically aligned councils would also make government co-funding arrangements for roads, bridges, public transport and urban growth simpler, with lower compliance costs.

City and regional deals with central government could be easily negotiated.

With new water organisations taking over storm, drinking and wastewater services, many district councils are left with local roads as their only major infrastructure task.

“That’s risky. Councils will have fewer cost centres to allocate overheads, and balance sheet downsizing as water assets are taken out may cause other disruptions,” Faulkner says.

“There’s a clear case for consolidation to achieve economies of scale and prevent local roads from deteriorating.”

Federated Farmers’ white paper also suggests shifting compliance and enforcement, and state-of-the-environment monitoring, from councils to government or centralised science and regulatory agencies.

“That would ensure consistency, objectivity and efficiency,” Faulkner says.

“Regulatory enforcement should not be political once policy is set.

“Its role is to enforce the rules and standards fairly, consistently and predictably.”

While the debate may unsettle current councils, Faulkner is struck by the broad agreement that reorganisation is now essential.