HUTT CITY COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE

26 JULY 2016

Government reforms need stronger protections for local democracy

Lower Hutt Mayor Ray Wallace has warned that local democracy will be undermined unless specific provision for it is included in the Government’s Better Local Services reforms.

His comments came as Hutt City Council prepares its formal submission on the Local Government Amendment 2002 Amendment Bill (No2).

“We’re pleased the proposed legislation incorporates many of the features we suggested in our submission on local and regional governance last year, and it’s a vast improvement from the Super City option pursued by the Local Government Commission.

“We support giving council’s greater flexibility to pursue their own reorganisation where there is proven mutual benefit and the people want it. Communities should have the right to determine their own fate so it’s pleasing to see the Bill recognise that local control over local issues must prevail.

“The devil lies in the detail. This Bill is very loose in its language and offers vague guarantees for preserving local democracy. Words like “Local governance” sound nice but are meaningless without a clear definition as to how it relates to local democracy, self-rule and local initiative.

“For example, by most people’s definition the core principle of local democracy is that residents can vote to remove decision makers from office. This Bill is far too vague on how this principle will be applied. We’ve previously seen the Local Government Commission misuse phrases like ‘community involvement’ and not reflect what an ordinary person would think.

“Our submission will recommend ways to tighten up the wording so that what the Bill says is actually what will happen. People are right to expect that their democratic rights are protected and I’ll personally hold officials to account on this.”

ENDS

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