Statement

31 August 2016

Mayor backs LGNZ stand on bill that could force CCOs on councils

Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick is backing Local Government New Zealand against provisions in a Bill which could see regional CCOs (council-controlled organisations) forced on districts to manage assets or services.

The Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill (No 2) includes provisions that would give the Local Government Commission the power to create CCOs without the agreement of councils or communities and set mandatory standards for council services which could lead to increased costs.

“We need to reserve the right for our council to do what’s best for the Rotorua district, rather than being dictated to by a regional entity that has been forced on us and we want to ensure communities are consulted on these big decisions,” Mayor Chadwick says.

She supports the stand being taken by Local Government New Zealand which will appear before a Select Committee tomorrow[Thursday 1 September] to present its concerns.

While CCOs can be an effective way to deliver some services, their establishment should be at the discretion of the councils concerned, Mayor Chadwick says.

“We share the Bill’s aim to improve council services but local councils need to retain the right to make decisions about how local assets should be managed. Decisions need to be made closest to the people affected by those decisions.

“Central government already has a hand in council services but the provision in this Bill relating to CCOs takes it to an unacceptably heavy-handed level and it goes against strong local democracy and empowering communities rather than dictating to them,” the Mayor says.

A survey on local government reform which Rotorua Lakes Council commissioned last year showed Rotorua residents were not against efficient, effective shared services but wanted decisions to be made locally to ensure local interests were maintained.

“Following that survey our council adopted a position which sought to retain local control of decisions relating to service delivery while seeking alternative approaches for services which could benefit from great scale,” Mayor Chadwick says.

Forced regionalisation of services will also jeopardise strong local relationships which are focussed on securing a strong future for the district, she says.

“Neighbours will help each other where there is a win-win and we are keen to explore opportunities for shared services but regionalising decisions won’t necessarily result in what’s best for our community.”

[ENDS]

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