At a recent Ōpōtiki District Council meeting, councillors agreed to send a submission on the Local Government Act Amendment Bill raising concerns that it may bypass local community democracy.

Ōpōtiki District Council Chief Executive, Aileen Lawrie reminded councillors that that Local Government Act Amendment Bill was currently before Parliament. She explained that the provisions focused on improving service, value and transparency in what local government provides. Ms Lawrie noted that several of the provisions give the Government the power to create Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) without first seeking council or community agreement.

“There was a short but robust discussion in the Chambers about the Bill. Many councillors feel that the amalgamation provisions are hiding amongst other changes and people may be unaware that their democratic right to choose what is best for their community is being taken away. The creation of CCOs should be a matter for councils and their communities and to have this choice removed would just see decisions made for us by someone in Wellington,” Ms Lawrie said.

“Council took the opportunity to join other voices from local government around the country to voice opposition to this aspect of the Bill. It was at a Select Committee hearing in Wellington last week and many local government voices spoke out about it. The upshot of the submission from Local Government New Zealand was that combining council services in this way feels like amalgamation by stealth.”

The aim of the Bill is to improve service delivery and infrastructure provision at the local government level. Council was clear that this is an excellent goal and the supported the intent.

“Like any other organisation, there are always things that local government can do better. We are constantly striving to make best use of our limited resources. We have shared services arrangements with our neighbour councils so that we can use the larger council’s expertise in things like HR and IT. This works really well for us. We fundraise and we have great community input into so much of what we do. I believe Ōpōtiki is a great example of a council working closely with the community to get the best ‘bang for our buck’ so to speak.

She said that with the 2016 local elections around the corner, council wanted a community that felt engaged in local democracy so that they made their vote count next month.

“The upshot of the Council’s submission was that local democracy exists to give local citizens the power to make decisions about where they live, and to hold those they elect to represent them accountable. So if the community wants or doesn’t want a CCO, then it is the community that should decide. Not someone sitting in Wellington.”

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