Local government in New Zealand


has a unitary system of government in which the authority of the central government defines sub-national entities. Local government in New Zealand has only the powers conferred upon it by the New Zealand Parliament. Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities are responsible for enabling democratic local decision-making and promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, as well as more specific functions for which they have delegated authority.
, seventy-eight local authorities cover all areas of New Zealand. Local authorities are positioned within a two-tier structure of territorial authorities and superimposed regional councils. In addition, until their abolition in 2022, district health boards were locally-elected bodies with responsibilities for oversight of health and disability services within a specified area, although these boards were not generally considered to be local authorities in the conventional sense.

History

The model of local government introduced after New Zealand became a British colony in 1840 had nothing in common with the tribal system practised by Māori. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, a British Act of Parliament, established six provinces in New Zealand—Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago—based on the six original planned settlements. These provinces were largely autonomous; each had an elected council and an elected chief official, called a superintendent. The New Provinces Act 1858 allowed for the creation of Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Southland and Westland provinces, established between 1858 and 1873.
The Constitution Act also allowed the creation of municipal corporations, or local governments, within provinces. Municipal corporations could be overruled by the province in which they were located. One of the first municipal corporations established was the Wellington City Corporation, created in 1870.
Road boards and highway districts were established by each provincial council during the 1850s and 1860s. These still existed after the abolition of provinces, despite a desire from some to replace them. In 1882 the central government passed the Road Boards Act 1882, which defined their boundaries and established the purpose of the boards to be the administration of rural areas. Approximately 400 road districts were established. The last one, Waiheke Road District, was abolished in 1970.
The provinces were abolished in 1876 so that government could be centralised, for financial reasons. Provincial councils were dependent on central government for revenue, and all except Otago and Canterbury were in financial difficulties at the time of their abolition. Since then, Parliament has been the single and supreme source of power—local authorities are created by Parliament, can be abolished by it, and are responsible for discharging functions assigned by it. The former provinces are remembered in regional public holidays and sporting rivalries.
From 1876 onwards, councils have had distributed functions, which vary locally. A system of counties similar to other countries' systems was instituted. The counties existed alongside management boards, for example drainage and rabbit boards, with between 600 and 750 of these authorities existing throughout the 20th century. There were half a dozen parliamentary bills attempting to reduce the number of these authorities, including one proposed in 1912 by Joseph Ward that would see all authorities abolished and replaced with 24 provinces. Despite this, the system of counties and boards remained until 1989, when the Fourth Labour Government set about comprehensively reorganising the local government system by implementing the current two-tier structure of regions and territorial authorities, and reduced the number of local bodies from approximately 850 to 86.
Auckland Council is the newest local authority. It was created on 1 November 2010 following a three-year process that began with the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. Picking up on one of the Royal Commission's recommendations, the Fifth National Government combined the functions of the existing Auckland Regional Council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super-city". Since then, the Local Government Commission has had a role considering changes to New Zealand's local government structure. Further amalgamations have been mooted but did not receive sufficient public support to progress further. Applications for secession from Auckland Council for the North Rodney and Waiheke Island communities have also failed.

Legislative framework

The New Zealand Government and the New Zealand House of Representatives determine the overarching structure and delegated functions of local government. The general principle is that local government in New Zealand may only do what it is specifically authorised to do, and may not do anything that it is not authorised to do.
The following is a list of key local government statutes.
Legislation conferring responsibilities on one or several local authorities may be passed from time to time.

Purpose

As defined in the Local Government Act 2002, the purpose of local government is:
  • to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
  • to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
Between 2013 and 2019, the second purpose statement was, instead, "to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses."

Oversight and accountability

Local authorities are functionally independent but are subject to audit requirements through Audit New Zealand under the authority of the controller and auditor-general. In addition, the Department of Internal Affairs carries out some monitoring functions on behalf of the minister of local government, who has a range of intervention functions that the minister may exercise in response to a poor-performing council. For example, the minister may appoint a Crown observer or, in extreme situations, remove the elected members and appoint commissioners. However, the primary way that local authority elected members are held accountable is through the triennial local elections.

Structure

New Zealand has two tiers of local government. The top tier consists of regional councils, of which there are eleven. Regional councils are responsible for activities such as environmental and public transport planning. The second tier consists of territorial authorities, of which there are sixty-seven: thirteen city councils, fifty-three district councils and Chatham Islands Council. Territorial authorities manage the most direct local public services, such as water supply and sanitation, road infrastructure, and museums and libraries. Together, regional and territorial authorities are called local authorities.
Five territorial authorities are unitary authorities, meaning they perform the functions of a regional council in addition to those of a territorial authority. The local authority for the outlying Chatham Islands has its own legislation and has unique powers similar to those of a unitary authority.
Most territorial authorities are wholly within one region, but six districts fall within two or more regions. There is no formal reporting relationship between a regional council and the territorial authorities in its region, but they work together on some matters including civil defence and regional planning. The Local Government Act 2002 provides for the establishment of joint committees of multiple territorial authorities for these purposes.
The external boundaries of a local authority can be changed by an Order in Council or through notice in the New Zealand Gazette. Several outlying islands do not fall within the jurisdiction of any territorial authority; for those islands, the Minister of Local Government acts as the territorial authority. The Department of Internal Affairs provides administration on behalf of the minister.

Governance and management

Each elected council is responsible for the local authority's governance and employs a chief executive, who is responsible for its management. The chief executive's role, outlined in the Local Government Act 2002, is to advise the council and implement its decisions, as well as employing staff and ensuring that all of a council's legal responsibilities are attended to. The term of a chief executive's employment is for up to five years, which may be extended to a maximum of seven years. Much of the governance and regulatory responsibilities of councils are transacted by committees or by the chief executive's staff, under delegation from the full council, although the level of delegation varies between councils. Councils may also choose to establish and delegate functions to companies or trusts.
Regional councils and territorial authorities have different statutory responsibilities from one another, as well as other key differences in terms of their governance structures.