Local government insights (original) (raw)
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Policy Quarterly special issue: local goverment
2016
Editorial note: Local government in New Zealand exists within a fairly well-defined narrative. New Zealand is the most centralised nation within the OECD. Central government is by far the dominant partner in the central-local relationship and recent innovations in local government have tended towards further centralisation, such as the amalgamation into Auckland’s Super-City. While there is, without doubt, some truth to this narrative, it is only part of the story and there is more that needs to be discussed in terms of local government and its role. This includes recognising the genuinely innovative approaches that can be found in just about every local authority in the country, often at the community level and frequently undertaken without any great public acclaim. More thought needs to be given to the legal and constitutional foundations of local government, along with the normative debate as to what the ideal balance between central and local should be. And more attention needs ...
The Role, Scope and Scale of Local Government in New Zealand: Its Prospective Future
This article contributes to the current debate as to the role, scope and scale of local government in New Zealand. In 2008, the Nationals Local Government Minister announced his intention to undertake a fundamental review of local government in NZ. This review finally took shape in mid 2011 with the publication of the consultation document ‘Smarter Government, Stronger Communities: towards better local governance and public services’ (Hide 2011). This article adds to the debate by identifying four key themes within the NZ local government system, namely: the legislative framework; managerial capabilities; calibre of elected members and finally democratic deficit and community disengagement. Whilst the first two themes are undoubted strengths, the latter two are equally weaknesses in the local governance system of NZ. Hence the article makes a number of recommendations, seeking to exploit the strengths and to correct the weaknesses in order to create a robust and credible local governance system for NZ.
The Foundation and Development of New Zealand Local Government: An Administrative Work in Progress
Transylvanian review of administrative sciences, 2007
From its genesis in Mid 19th Century liberalism to its current rationalist position, local government in New Zealand has followed a similar path to that of New Zealand central government in that it has embraced a neo liberal economic rationalist view of its role in public policy. The article traces the historical foundation of New Zealand local government and the factors that have assisted in forming the current shape of local government in New Zealand. The article ends by suggesting that the system of local government is dynamic and is still in development.
Contemporary Local Government Reform in New Zealand: Efficiency or Democracy
Reform has been an ongoing feature of local government in many parts of the world, particularly in recent decades. While specific approaches have reflected the unique circumstances of each society common trends and objectives can be found, such as the desire to improve efficiency and strengthen democratic responsiveness. The way in which governments go about achieving these potentially opposing objectives varies. Some choose a consolidation option in the expectation that larger authorities will create economies of scale. Others choose the localist option in order to bring decision-making closer to citizens and encourage inter-council bench marking. Yet the frequency of reform suggests that finding the right mix of regulations and incentives to achieve efficient local services and a responsive democracy is still some time away, certainly if the New Zealand experience is typical.
Strengthening Local Government and Community Governance in New Zealand
Public sector reform, globalization and increasing demands by citizens have increased the need for local governments to work with other organisations to address complex policy and management issues. These pressures have compelled local governments to innovate and venture into areas that were previously considered to be outside its remit, including a shift from a focus on 'government' to one of 'governance'.
Citizens’ active participation in local government affairs today is low, and no measurable signs indicate any improvement. To the contrary, evidence suggests citizen participation is deteriorating. Considerable debate has been involved in trying to establish whether its cause is citizenship deficits or democracy deficits. Alternatively, does another, yet-to-be-discovered driver explain the disconnection between local government and its citizens? Of greatest concern is that, in the near future, significant investment decisions and the outcomes they provide are likely to set the tone for our communities for the next 100 years or more. In this context, the diminishing participation may beget further disconnection. Furthermore, if citizens are not really in a position to make an informed decision, who is? Can we be sure those decision-makers are making the right decisions? Has the intent behind our participatory or deliberative democracy in the local government sector established itsel...
Exploring the Rhetoric of Partnership -the Dynamics of Local Government Reform in New Zealand 1
Within months of its election in 1999 the Lab Alliance coalition government initiated a major review of local government's legislative framework. It was the third wave of local government reform within little more than a decade and appears to confirm a growing interest in the efficacy of sub-national government. Yet despite this new found legislative popularity the actual place of local government in the national governance framework remains unclear. Is there a unifying theme that allows us to interpret this period of change as the achievement of a clear and coherent vision for local government or does it lack clear policy objectives with no particular " big-idea " ? Does the rhetoric of " partnership " signal a new paradigm in the relationship of local and central government with an enhanced role for local public policy, or is it simply the contemporary " brand " by which government at the turn of the century will be remembered? The pace of local government reform in the last decade of the twentieth century is likely to puzzle and intrigue future historians. After more than 100 years of unsuccessful efforts Parliament has undertaken two major reviews of the sector and has almost completed a third. It has been a significant achievement given that reform has concerned successive governments since Sir Joseph Ward convened a local government conference at the turn of the 20 th Century to gain support for a new Local Government Bill that would be a " visionary, daring and concerted plan for structural re-organisation ". 2 That it took almost ninety years to give effect to such a vision and address " the problem " is either a testament to the intransigence of the local government sector or its lack of significance in the face of competing legislative priorities. Explanations will vary. Some will see it as merely an extension of public sector reform that marked the advent of David Lange' Labour Government in 1984. Those with an interest in political economy might find the explanation in a legitimation crisis caused by the shift of " real economic and political power outside the realms of the democratic state " 3. A few will search for the answer in the changing international context, in particular globalisation, economic deregulation and the popularity of supply side-policies designed to increase economic competitiveness. Historians of public policy may argue that the cause lies in the historical tension between democracy and efficiency and its inevitable influence on the construction of the local state. Another school will stress the role of individual actors, and in particular the success of recent local government ministers in persuading their cabinet colleagues (who might have been expected to be less than interested) that local government reform deserved a place on their respective