Council reforms announcement a 'welcome course of travel' - devil is in the details

The Minister for Local Government has today announced plans to refocus councils through the Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill to Parliament.

Sam Warren, Campaigns Manager for Local Government at the Taxpayers’ Union, said:

“The announcement is a welcome the course of travel to improve a desperately broken sector. But the devil is in the details and until we see what’s under the hood, it’s impossible to know how far the Bill actually goes.”

“It’s important the Bill sufficiently reins in councils to  focus on just the basics, and make sure that future rates increases are kept as low as possible for households.”

“Inspiration can be found in the Building Better Councils briefing paper, which sets the bar for true council reform. Policies like rates capping and the removal of general competence from councils are non-negotiable in bringing in effective change to Local Government.”

"Rates are out of control, and Councils have been exposed in the Rates Dashboard that shows how dire the situation is for struggling Kiwis."

“We cannot afford half-measures when rates have soared by more than two-and-a-half times the rate of inflation in just three years. More than 28,000 Kiwis have signed the Cap Rates Now petition in response to these excessive increases, and are demanding to see change in local government."