LGNZ History
LGNZ is relatively new, but the basis for the organisation has a long history.
Local government representation in New Zealand dates back to the nineteenth century and was established by individual and small territorial authorities looking for a unified voice which could to talk to central government on their behalf.
The first annual meeting of the Municipal Association of New Zealand (MANZ) was held in Wellington on 6 July 1892. A major function of the association was to keep abreast of legislation and its effect on local bodies.
The New Zealand Counties Association (NZCA) was established in 1894 to represent county councils. NZCA was dedicated to local government reform that focused on reducing the number of local authorities.
The two associations operated discretely, representing their members on a range of issues from legislation and road boards to amenities and public utilities for over 90 years.
The year of 1988 was one of great change in the local government sector including the merger of the two associations to form the New Zealand Local Government Association (LGA). While still in its infancy LGA established a think tank to develop recommendations on the Local Government Amendment Bill which led to the establishment of city, district and regional councils in 1989. LGA was rebranded in 1996 to become the current LGNZ.
Today, much like when the MANZ and NZCA were established in the nineteenth century, a key role for LGNZ is to advocate to central government on behalf of its members across a wide range of national issues.
A brief history of local government
Local government is a product of New Zealand's colonial history, being brought to New Zealand by the first British settlers. The first councils were formed by settlers in Wellington before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British Crown and Māori.
The growth of local government, however, was neither smooth nor linear. Many of the new settlements were too small to support effective self government and early attempts to establish a national system of local government along the lines of the local government in Britain, came to nothing. In 1852 six provincial governments were created and under their watch rural and urban councils began to develop.
However it was not until the disbanding of the provinces twenty years later and the passage of the Municipal Corporations and the Counties' Acts in 1876 that New Zealand was provided with a comprehensive system of local government.
By the end of the 19th century, the number of locally elected bodies, ranging from borough and county councils to pest destruction boards, had mushroomed to 552 and continued to grow through most of the 20th Century.
Despite frequent plans to reduce the number of elected bodies it took until 1989 before parliament was able to muster the support to undertake a comprehensive re-organisation of the sector, replacing more than 850 elected bodies with 86 multi purpose local authorities.
Since then the number of local authorities has fallen to 78 with the most recent amalgamations occurring in Auckland with the merger of eight councils into one.
View a timeline of local government history in New Zealand..
Last updated: September 2011
