Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ)

Only 1% of all mail in New Zealand is sent by individuals, so why is it the way we vote in local elections? Postal voting made a lot more sense when everyone was still sending letters, but these days, the average person posts about as often as they send a fax (which, for most of us, is never.) Since 2000, postal volumes have dropped 80%, and the number of street post boxes has shrunk by 40%. Councils now set up drop-off bins all over the place just to help get votes in on time. So, what’s the fix? In the digital age, you might think the future for voting is online, but we’re not quite at the secure democracy from your couch stage yet. Instead, we’re advocating for a return to booth voting — the same system used in national elections. It’s reliable, secure, and ensures every vote counts. We have a lot of recommendations for the future of local government. You can read our draft position paper and provide feedback at https://lnkd.in/g3SAAkUc . Submissions close Monday 28 April.

Rates. 59% of council income comes from them, but how do they know who should pay what? Simply, your rates bill is based on your property value compared to others in your area. Many households around Aotearoa have recently had their property revaluated. This is your council reviewing what your property’s worth, to make sure everyone's paying their fair share of rates. These assessments happen every three years and measure the capital value (CV) of a property. The CV is the combined value of your land by itself, the potential rental value, plus any consented improvements made to it like driveways, retaining walls, or fencing. If your rates valuation has changed since the last assessment, it’s not because someone from the council thinks your house needs a slap of paint and new curtains, nor does it reflect any chic renovations you’ve done to your kitchen (we’re looking at you, fancy ice-making fridge owners). These ratings are completed by independent valuers and audited by the Office of the Valuer General. They’re based on what they estimate a property would have sold for in the market at the time of the assessment. Most people will notice that their valuation has gone down, reflecting that house prices are slowly stabilising after the 2021 property peak. If you think they’ve estimated wrong, you can dispute the CV with your local council. So now you have an idea of how a properties CV is set. Stay tuned for our explanation on how it factors into dishing out the rates pie.

This week our CEO Susan Freeman-Greene spoke at Auckland Council's Empowering Women into Governance International Women’s Day panel about how we are influencing change for women standing to be elected members. “Local government is an extraordinary platform to make a difference in communities. We really need women in the mix. Of course, we know there are challenges like increasing abuse and harassment, but we can’t let that deter great people from putting their hand up. Which is why, at LGNZ, we are working to create safe spaces for connecting, advocating for system changes and raising our communities’ awareness to make sure that our elected members can engage in robust debate that doesn’t turn into abuse.” You can check out the panel recording here https://lnkd.in/gk6NMTNf

Listen- the work that councils do isn’t always life or death. It’s a lot of important, yet mundane stuff that you don’t even notice until it’s broken. But a lot of council decisions do address critical safety issues in the community. Sometimes, it’s regulating food businesses, so you don’t puke your guts out after a cheeky takeaway. Or it’s designing public spaces to be well-lit and monitored to reduce crime and discourage anti-social behaviour. Every council is making choices that address the health and safety of their local community. Take Selwyn District Council, who recently made their aquatic centre the first in NZ to use cutting-edge technology to help keep pool users safe. They’ve been installing cameras around their pools that use artificial intelligence to securely track and analyse swimmer movements. If it identifies any signs that a swimmer might be in trouble, lifeguards get a smartwatch alert that tell them which pool the incident is happening in, and where the person is located. Selwyn Council made the call to install this technology after a medical incident happened in the aquatic centre. Although their lifeguards successfully assisted the person, they noticed that glare on the pool made it harder to spot them in the water. It’s all part of the council’s new digital strategy to use technology to improve council operations. How’s that for councils looking out for you? Ka Rawe Selwyn. You can find out more about the safety initiative in this video: https://lnkd.in/guVwvriT

We’re concerned about the increase in abuse that elected officials, especially women, face in local government. An LGNZ poll of council Mayors, chairs, and chief executives revealed that nearly two-thirds have been targeted with aggressive and abusive behaviour online, with almost three quarters (74%) experiencing the same treatment at in person public meetings. Women in politics are far more likely to be on the receiving end of abuse, sexual comments, threats to their families, and even threats of sexual violence. We don’t want this behaviour unchecked, and we don’t want it to be a barrier for people standing to represent their local community. That’s why we’re backing the Government’s proposed crimes legislation amendment bill to reduce the harm that victims experience. The proposed changes include the introduction of a new stalking and harassment offence and other measures to reduce the harm that victims experience, while also making sure that offenders are held accountable. Stuff NZ covers why we’re supporting this bill, and the experiences of abuse Invercargill councillor Alex Crackett has faced in her role in this article https://lnkd.in/gPC-SQ9q

Oscars, who? At LGNZ we’re holding space for the SuperLocal awards. We know that Councils do incredible things every day – solving problems, bringing people together, and making communities better. But let’s be honest, a lot of council projects are A Complete Unknown to the public. That’s why these awards put the work of your council centre stage, giving Wicked kudos to councils that are making a real difference in their communities. Judged in an independent Conclave, the awards highlight the best work of local government leadership, innovation, collaboration or engagement. It’s easy to enter, and a win puts your council in the spotlight as a forward-thinking leader. Plus, we’ll share your success through media, social media and our website — giving you the recognition you deserve. We know your councils have The Substance, so get your applications in by 5pm 15 May! https://lnkd.in/g5jSzM-A

Councils do not put up rates because they can, they put up rates because they have to. They have to for a variety of reasons – long term underspending on the things rate payers can’t see (like pipes), filling needs in their communities that no one else does (like rural health hubs), demands on them from central government to pick up responsibilities without due funding support, cost increases way above the CPI, like building roads, and the costs of growth without return. Believe me, they do not like doing it, especially in their election year. They care a lot about the pressures on ratepayers.    But as Luke Malpass says ‘The biggest problem for local government is shown in a simple chart produced by the Productivity Commission in 2019. It is the share of government as part of the economy; taxation as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), going back to 1895. Back then, local government taxation was 2% of the economy, while central government taxation was about 7%.   Today, core Crown tax revenue as a share of GDP has rocketed up to about 29% (the fiscal deficit making it look better than it is), while local government’s has remained - over more than 130 years - at about 2%.’   That’s why we have been advocating for different funding and financing tools in a range of ways. We have developed a toolkit of options, we have hit the media on this and of course we have been talking, relentlessly, to government about them. So we were delighted this week when at one of our all of local government meetings,Minister Christopher Bishop announced his toolbox approach to encourage development by enabling councils to raise more revenue off it, to pay for it. It’s a start, and we look forward to the Minister’s third pillar which will include incentives to build.     Noone is saying councils are perfect, and they are thinking about efficiencies and shared services in all sorts of ways, but one can’t get past the fact that they need different tools to keep the pressure off rates, and to support what we all need – economic growth.   This piece is well worth a read – take a look at the chart.

We just heard a gamechanger from Hon Chris Bishop, Minister for Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development and Transport. In his address to our Rural & Provincial Sector and Metro Sector councils. He shared a new toolkit approach to funding and financing housing development. The changes include transitioning to development levies for cost recovery from unplanned growth, increasing flexibility around targeted rates, broadening tools for value capture, and changing the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act to ease funding for greenfields infrastructure, state highway projects, and public transport projects. LGNZ President Sam Broughton says that there is huge potential to create better alignment between national goals and local incentives. We look forward to working with the Government on this. While rates remain the bread and butter for local government finances, LGNZ is stoked to see more options to reduce pressure on ratepayers. It's a win for councils who are often hit with the costs of growth without seeing the benefits. https://lnkd.in/eRhcauYJ

LGNZ President Sam Broughton is pushing for stronger transparency measures to keep councils accountable and rates fair — without resorting to rate capping, which has failed overseas. He says councils need better funding tools, not restrictions that lead to infrastructure backlogs and higher user fees. Speaking at the All-of local-government meeting, the Local Government Association of South Australia shared its success in improving council transparency without rate capping. CEO Clinton Jury warned that capping limits financial autonomy and undermines local democracy. Instead, South Australia tackled public concerns by working with the State Government on reforms that boosted transparency and trust. Sam sees this as a model worth exploring in New Zealand, saying better benchmarking will help communities make informed decisions about council performance. Read more about our stance in our media release https://lnkd.in/gaTuTwzQ

And we’re back for day two — slightly more caffeinated but still ready to tackle the big stuff!! On the agenda? Sector meetings, where metro, regional, rural and provincial councils come together to discuss hot topics like infrastructure, water, transport, and cyclone recovery. It's a great opportunity for councils to swap ideas, solve problems, and prove that teamwork really does make the dream work.