Category: Local Government
Home affordability has been in the news in recent weeks. The “problem” is a perennial political football, but things got a little more serious recently when the National Party released broad-brush details of their plan to deal with the issue. The Minister of Finance, Bill English, has correctly recognised that housing is becoming less affordable to low income earners and has proposed a range of initiatives to deal with it:
Submissions on the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill close next week on Thursday July 26th. All New Zealanders should be asking whether they are happy with the performance of their local council – if not, here is an opportunity to have a say. Submissions can be made on-line here >>>
In March 2012 central government launched a multifaceted reform programme, Better Local Government. The aim is to “refocus” local councils in the interests of improving governance, efficiency, and management. It identified eight areas for action.
There is a strange irony about New Zealanders. While some are extremely vocal in opposing foreign ownership of land or assets, many turn a blind eye when a foreign group like the United Nations effectively takes over aspects of our governance and institutional arrangements.
There is no doubt that reform of local government is long overdue. Ratepayers up and down the country have long expressed their anger over the management of local government. From excessive rate rises and excessive debt, to attacks on private property rights, unwarranted costs and restrictions, the imposition of race-based representation… the list of concerns is endless.
Communities throughout New Zealand are feeling under siege from regional councils, district councils, and external lobby groups who are not part of their living, working communities. Spatial planning has spawned an avalanche of costly, staff driven micro management initiatives, for significant natural areas (SNAs), landscape, amenity, and biodiversity, affecting rural private property. Planning maps now identify everything from a blade of grass to a dog kennel.
National’s back down last week over school staffing cuts was a significant victory for the union movement. Two of the country’s most powerful unions - the New Zealand Educational Institute and the Post Primary Teachers Association - flexed their muscles and the government caved in. This is bad news for not only for children and parents but for the long term future of the country, since improving workforce skills is crucial for faster economic growth and rising living standards
There incidents are widespread problems with local government. At a time when central government is tightening its belt, striving to reduce debt and lower its costs, local government appears to be moving in the opposite direction. In contrast to households and farms, which have been reducing debt since the onset of the global recession in 2008, council debt has been on the rise with borrowings growing from $500 million in 2007, to $800 million in 2008, $1,100 million in 2009, and to $1,800 million in 2010...
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Many people around the country are unhappy with the performance of their Councils and demanding action of one kind or another. Perhaps surprisingly, the same key issues are being debated in places as diverse as the UK, Ireland, Florida, California, Texas, Melbourne, Sydney, and Honolulu.
In 2006, property investor Terrence Stirling applied to the Christchurch City Council for a resource consent for a bulk retail centre on a two-hectare site some 50 metres from the central business district. The site, which was used mainly for car sales, was in an industrial zone where any retail development needed Council permission. The proposed complex was to have two large-format stores selling items such as furniture, carpets, or appliances, along with five smaller shops. He thought it would be a straightforward matter. It wasn’t.
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