Regional councils were established following major reforms instituted by the fourth Labour Government in 1989. The aim of those reforms was to streamline what was then considered to be a cumbersome and inefficient structure with over 850 ad hoc boards and councils.
These were slashed to just 86 multi-purpose local authorities. Thirteen new regional councils (subsequently reduced to 11 through amalgamations) were also established, with broad environmental responsibilities, including pest and weed control, natural resource management, and civil defence.
The reforms were vigorously opposed by the National Party, as an assault on local democracy and representation. It saw the new regional councils as an artificial and unnecessary overlay that would be no effective replacement for the many established counties and boroughs that were being abolished.
But there was another important element to Labour's local government reforms than just getting rid of counties and boroughs. At the same time, the Labour Government was revising planning and resource management law, bringing together 54 different planning and environmental statutes into a single resource management act. The new regional councils were intended to have a key regulatory role in the resource management regime this new legislation would usher in.
When the National Government took office in 1990 once of its first acts was to wind back the powers of the new regional councils. Consequently, regional councils were left largely toothless, with substantially reduced roles. For the last thirty-five years they have therefore remained an awkward anomaly, with little public understanding of their purpose.
Also, much of the controversy that has attended the Resource Management Act since its passage in 1991 can be traced back to the winding back of the original powers intended for regional councils to administer its provisions. The upshot was that when the Act was introduced, it was largely in a regulatory vacuum, which gave rise to many of the problems that have dogged it ever since.
National is now looking to dump the Resource Management Act altogether and to replace it with a more streamlined, centrally based standards-driven approach to reduce the number of individual resource consents required. Given that, it is hardly any surprise that the government should also be asking whether regional councils are needed at all. So, not only is National on the cusp of getting rid of the Resource Management Act, which it has never really been comfortable with, but now also sees the associated opportunity of ridding itself of regional councils, about which it has been wary and unconvinced ever since they were established.
Should all this come to pass, and regional councils are done away with, few will lament their passing. Many though will agree with Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger that if regional councils have had their day, the bigger question will be what comes next.
Will there be more super-cities like Auckland with a unitary authority carrying out the functions previously ascribed to regional and territorial government? If so, how many super-cities could there be? At a glance, probably very few. Napier-Hastings, Wellington including the Hutt Valley and the Kapiti Coast, and greater Christchurch seem the obvious candidates under such a scenario, but what about the rest of the country?
Or are most of the responsibilities currently performed by regional councils going to be taken over by the new national standards bodies the resource management law changes are proposing? Where does that leave public transport? Or will that be passed back to city and district councils to provide?
And, given that the current rating system for funding councils is almost broken, and the government now looks set to exacerbate the situation by introducing rates caps, how will all these changes be paid for? A more likely scenario in such circumstances would simply be that councils severely reduce or abandon many of their services because they can no longer afford to pay for them.
National’s plan to establish specific City and Regional Deals to focus on infrastructure and long-term economic development give a clue to its response. Consistent with the Prime Minister’s approach to government generally, it seems far more interested in transactional relationships with local communities than maintaining democratic representational structures for their own sake.
The City and Regional Deals approach may work if such deals are substantial and offer real regional benefit. But so far, it is difficult to tell. No such deals are yet in place – the first one is promised by the end of 2025, with three more scheduled for 2026.
In just over six weeks candidate nominations for this year’s local body elections close. With the way things are currently swirling, those considering running for regional councils ought to be watching National’s musings about the future of regional government very carefully.
Peter Dunne, a retired Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, who represented Labour and United Future for over 30 years, blogs here: honpfd.blogspot.com - Where this article was sourced.
The reforms were vigorously opposed by the National Party, as an assault on local democracy and representation. It saw the new regional councils as an artificial and unnecessary overlay that would be no effective replacement for the many established counties and boroughs that were being abolished.
But there was another important element to Labour's local government reforms than just getting rid of counties and boroughs. At the same time, the Labour Government was revising planning and resource management law, bringing together 54 different planning and environmental statutes into a single resource management act. The new regional councils were intended to have a key regulatory role in the resource management regime this new legislation would usher in.
When the National Government took office in 1990 once of its first acts was to wind back the powers of the new regional councils. Consequently, regional councils were left largely toothless, with substantially reduced roles. For the last thirty-five years they have therefore remained an awkward anomaly, with little public understanding of their purpose.
Also, much of the controversy that has attended the Resource Management Act since its passage in 1991 can be traced back to the winding back of the original powers intended for regional councils to administer its provisions. The upshot was that when the Act was introduced, it was largely in a regulatory vacuum, which gave rise to many of the problems that have dogged it ever since.
National is now looking to dump the Resource Management Act altogether and to replace it with a more streamlined, centrally based standards-driven approach to reduce the number of individual resource consents required. Given that, it is hardly any surprise that the government should also be asking whether regional councils are needed at all. So, not only is National on the cusp of getting rid of the Resource Management Act, which it has never really been comfortable with, but now also sees the associated opportunity of ridding itself of regional councils, about which it has been wary and unconvinced ever since they were established.
Should all this come to pass, and regional councils are done away with, few will lament their passing. Many though will agree with Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger that if regional councils have had their day, the bigger question will be what comes next.
Will there be more super-cities like Auckland with a unitary authority carrying out the functions previously ascribed to regional and territorial government? If so, how many super-cities could there be? At a glance, probably very few. Napier-Hastings, Wellington including the Hutt Valley and the Kapiti Coast, and greater Christchurch seem the obvious candidates under such a scenario, but what about the rest of the country?
Or are most of the responsibilities currently performed by regional councils going to be taken over by the new national standards bodies the resource management law changes are proposing? Where does that leave public transport? Or will that be passed back to city and district councils to provide?
And, given that the current rating system for funding councils is almost broken, and the government now looks set to exacerbate the situation by introducing rates caps, how will all these changes be paid for? A more likely scenario in such circumstances would simply be that councils severely reduce or abandon many of their services because they can no longer afford to pay for them.
National’s plan to establish specific City and Regional Deals to focus on infrastructure and long-term economic development give a clue to its response. Consistent with the Prime Minister’s approach to government generally, it seems far more interested in transactional relationships with local communities than maintaining democratic representational structures for their own sake.
The City and Regional Deals approach may work if such deals are substantial and offer real regional benefit. But so far, it is difficult to tell. No such deals are yet in place – the first one is promised by the end of 2025, with three more scheduled for 2026.
In just over six weeks candidate nominations for this year’s local body elections close. With the way things are currently swirling, those considering running for regional councils ought to be watching National’s musings about the future of regional government very carefully.
Peter Dunne, a retired Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, who represented Labour and United Future for over 30 years, blogs here: honpfd.blogspot.com - Where this article was sourced.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for engaging in the debate!
Because this is a public forum, we will only publish comments that are respectful and do NOT contain links to other sites. We appreciate your cooperation.