Local Government Sector
Local Government is...
- one of the two branches of government in New Zealand
- a creature of statute but autonomous and accountable to communities.
Local authorities comprise:
- 12 regional councils
- 73 territorial authorities.
Of the 73 territorial authorities:
- 16 are city councils
- 57 are district councils
- four of the 73 are unitary authorities.
The Chatham Islands Council and the four unitary authorities have both regional and local council responsibiltiesand functions.
Under the current Local Government Act councils are subject to planning and management disciplines including:
- preparing annual plans and budgets in consultation with their communities
- reporting annually on performance in relation to plans
- preparing long-term financial strategies including funding, borrowing management and investment policies
- adopting accrual accounting practices
- valuing their assets
- separating policy/regulatory from operational functions
- preparing policies and plans concerning other functions, especially resource management, land transport and biosecurity.
zones
Councils throughout the country are separated into six zones and they meet once every three months provide feedback to Local Government New Zealand.
Local democracy is...
...about having the right mix of people, elected locally, tobest represent a particular community
...about ensuring services are provided to the community in the best way possible. This may mean providing services themselves, joining forces with neighbouring councils, contracting out particular services or privatising the service
...about seeing and creating the best future for each
community. This may mean encouraging new industries to the area, establishing high environmental standards, making social equity a community priority, building drains, developing parks or creating local museums
...about being fair. This means listening to all points of view and often means compromise and consensus - not absolutes
...about adding value not just providing it. And recognising that 'democracy' (the process) has actual dollar costs
...about taking a collective approach to community needs (so that individuals don't have to). This means, for example, looking after disposal of wastes, supplies of water and security of physical landscapes
...about considering the affordability of proposed programmes or solutions to problems
...about working with communities to identify common, or public, goods and creating a sense of local identity and place.
Maps of Council Boundaries Click Here
Last updated: August 2008
