Steven Gaskell: The Backdoor to Co-Governance - How the Local Government Commission Is Quietly Re-Wiring Democracy

Most New Zealanders have never heard of Brendan Duffy, Bonita Bigham, or Dr Sue Bidrose. And that, dear reader, is exactly the problem.

While the rest of us are busy working, paying rates, and hoping the council might one day fill in a pothole, these three unelected mandarins sit on the Local Government Commission a body most people couldn’t describe if their lives depended on it. Yet this little-known trio has an oversized say in how your town, city, and ultimately your democracy are going to look in the very near future.

And guess what? They’ve cooked up a little something called a “Draft Code of Conduct” for local authorities. Sounds boring, right? Just another box-ticking exercise to keep councillors polite during meetings? Oh no. Hidden in the fine print is the now-predictable “reinterpretation” of the Treaty of Waitangi the Trojan horse of co-governance, shoved right through the back door of local government.

The Game Plan

Instead of co-governance being openly debated in Parliament (where messy things like votes, scrutiny, and accountability happen), the Commission is recommending that councils adopt “principles of the Treaty” as if they were handed down from Mount Sinai. The problem? Many of these so-called “principles” aren’t even in the Treaty itself. They’re modern inventions, cleverly massaged to mean: more race-based seats, more veto power, and more say for iwi leaders over the people you thought you elected.

And let’s be clear plenty of councils, desperate to look “progressive” and terrified of being called racist, will leap at the chance to rubber-stamp this. Ratepayers? Silly you. Your job is to fund the operation, not to question who’s actually running it.

Democracy by Stealth

Former Labour Minister Nanaia Mahuta wasn’t exactly shy when she let slip: “The control of New Zealand starts with the control of local bodies.” Well, here we are. The Commission is essentially trying to re-engineer councils into co-governance vehicles without the inconvenience of public debate.

Ask yourself: if this agenda is so just and so popular, why sneak it through the back door via unelected commissioners? Why not front up, hold a referendum, and let New Zealanders decide? The answer is simple: because the answer they’d get from the public would be a resounding No.

Why You Should Be Worried

Today it’s a “code of conduct.” Tomorrow it’s binding Treaty clauses in every local government decision from water pipes to playground upgrades. Suddenly, your vote as a ratepayer counts for less, while iwi appointees and unelected committees get more say over how your community is run.

It’s sold as “partnership.” But partnerships usually involve both parties being equal. What’s happening here is not equality it’s a carefully staged shift of power, embedded quietly in local council structures, so by the time most New Zealanders notice, the new normal is locked in.

The Backdoor Slam

So yes, you may not know Brendan Duffy, Bonita Bigham, or Sue Bidrose. But you should. Because these three commissioners — polite, professional, and entirely unelected — are driving changes that could reshape New Zealand democracy at its foundations.

Sarcastically speaking, it’s genius: if you can’t win the argument in Parliament, just tinker with the plumbing of local government until ordinary Kiwis wake up one day to discover that their “vote” doesn’t carry quite the same weight it once did.

The only question left is this: will we slam the backdoor shut before co-governance becomes the furniture of local government or will we just keep paying our rates and pretending democracy hasn’t been quietly stolen from under our noses?

And guess what, MSM is not reporting this.

References:
https://centrist.nz/draft-code-tells-councils-to-share-power-with-iwi

Steven is an entrepreneur and an ex RNZN diver who likes travelling, renovating houses, Swiss Watches, history, chocolate art and art deco.