9 Jan 2013

Media Release

For Immediate Release

Local Government reform process kicks-off in Bay of Plenty

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce today urged the community to get involved in the local government reform debate by attending and participating in a landmark conference – Rethinking Local Government - on Friday 1 February at BayPark.

Chamber CEO Max Mason said, “Local government affects everybody in the community and now is the time for people interested in the performance and future of Councils to get involved and have their say. The recently passed bill on local government reform now provides clarification on what community’s options are and will have an important influence on the October 2013 Council elections.”

The conference is organised by the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Speakers include internationally and nationally recognised authorities in local government, economics, demographics, infrastructure and iwi, and will be officially opened by Mayor of Tauranga, Stuart Crosby.

The objective of the conference is to kick start the discussion on the future of Councils in the Bay of Plenty and is a forum to present and discuss pressures, trends and opportunities for local government reform.

The experience and lessons for the Bay of Plenty in light of the reform of local government in Auckland will be covered by Sir Bob Harvey, the previous mayor of Waitakere City. Rod Oram and Peter McKinley will identify the many pressures driving reform and the issues and options for strengthening local government in the Bay.

Professor Natalie Jackson of Waikato University will examine the critical role demographic changes are playing, and Stephen Selwood, CEO of the NZ Council for Infrastructure, addresses the significant infrastructure challenges the region faces.

Antoine Coffin, Chairman of Tauranga Moana Iwi Property Management Company will present options and opportunities for local government and iwi partnerships, and Paul Tustin, Partner Cooney Lees Morgan will identify what the private sector needs from Councils.

The conference will be chaired by Associate Professor Dr Bill Ryan from the School of Government, Victoria University, who will also provide a comparative overview of local government reform in other regions.

Mr Mason said, “The outcome we are looking for is that attendees be from a wide cross section of interested people from rate payers to contractors, agencies who work closely with local Government, business people and elected representatives. The reform of local government has the ability to transform our community and initiating a public discussion on how that could happen is overdue.”

The cost for attendees is $30.00 with morning tea and lunch provided. Full details on speakers and topics is available on the Chamber website – www.tauranga.org.nz. To book please contact Anne Pankhurst at the Tauranga Chamber of Commerce – anne@tauranga.org.nz or call 07 577-8955.

ENDS

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