‘Angst, frustration’ over major reforms
Some big changes are proposed by central government that could have significant effects on councils, ratepayers and communities – but there’s not much time to have a say about them.
Submissions are due to close between January 27 and April 10 on at least nine bills, reviews or consultation documents covering a range of weighty matters, from the creation of a new body to oversee, administer and enforce the drinking water regulatory system, to a review of the way Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) is funded.
The large volume of proposed reforms released by the Government before Christmas has some councils scrambling to complete submissions by the deadlines, often with no time to involve elected members in their preparation – sparking concern about a lack of awareness in the public arena.
Tasman District Council chief executive Janine Dowding said the public often became aware of government proposals via council discussions and reports in the media. When submissions had to be made by staff alone, ‘‘that opportunity is lost’’.
Local Government New Zealand president Dave Cull said the concerns expressed by Dowding were ‘‘shared quite widely’’ among other local authorities.
‘‘There has been considerable angst and frustration about the timing and number of consultations happening at once.’’
Cull said he had never seen such a large number of proposals ‘‘dumped out’’ before Christmas.
Local government wanted to contribute, and had been demanding more say, but it could be difficult when so many consultations were under way concurrently, he said – particularly at a time when elected members were not sitting, such as the Christmas-New Year break or during local body elections.
‘‘We regret not being able to add the value we want to,’’ Cull said.
The concerns were largely around the timing and sequencing of consultations. ‘‘Central government and local government calendars are not aligned,’’ he said.
Dowding said central government changes usually had implications for local government in terms of process, time and cost. ‘‘What is significant is the cumulative effect, not only of these proposed changes, but the other packages that have been released in recent months, including the freshwater reform package, other National Policy Statements and law changes.’’
Some of the proposals, if adopted, would involve councils collecting levies for central government, while others would affect councils’ rates.
‘‘For example, [a review of] the Burial and Cremations Act proposes that councils take over responsibility from the Medical Officer of Health for disinterments, and that councils manage and maintain private cemeteries if the owners do not want to or cannot continue to do so,’’ Dowding said.
The council did its best to raise awareness of the effects through its submissions, she said, ‘‘and when changes are made, we try to implement them as efficiently as we can to minimise costs’’.
‘‘However, if we’re not able to recover reasonable costs from those directly benefiting from the council service, they have to be picked up by the general ratepayer.’’
Dowding said some of the proposals ‘‘are really very, very significant to the fundamental functions of council’’.
As an example, she outlined the Urban Development Bill, which aims to provide powers to Ka¯ inga Ora – Homes and Communities. Established on October 1, Ka¯ inga Ora brings together the people and resources of Housing New Zealand and its development subsidiary HLC as well as KiwiBuild.
Dowding said the bill proposed giving ‘‘wide, sweeping powers to Ka¯ inga Ora to redevelop urban areas, including consenting, use of compulsory acquisition powers, (and) the setting of development contributions and rates, including placing an obligation on councils to collect rates of behalf of Ka¯ inga Ora’’. Submissions on the bill close on February 14.