The Canterbury Mayoral Forum does not wholly support the Simplifying Local Government proposal in its current form, however, it acknowledges that aspects of the current system are under pressure and that change is required to address long-standing economic, environmental, and funding challenges.
In its submission, the Forum agrees that an evidence-led approach to determine how functions are delivered across Canterbury is timely and has the potential to deliver benefits for communities and ratepayers.
For this to be realised, the Forum believes that local and central government need to work collaboratively to deliver true benefits to Canterbury communities.
Mayoral Forum Submission – Simplifying Local Government proposal (880KB PDF)
Key points of the submission
- The Forum welcomes a more deliberate conversation about how a collaborative approach would ensure a fit for purpose and contemporary public sector for their communities.
- The Forum supports the establishment of a Combined Territories Board (CTB) to develop the regional reorganisation plan (RRP).
- The Forum strongly believes governance and decision-making should be devolved to the level of government closest to affected communities.
- Treaty partnership should shape how functions are assessed, outcomes defined, and decision-making designed, with no weakening of existing Canterbury/Ngāi Tahu arrangements.
- The functional review should assess what functions are needed, how well they’re delivered, and at what scale, rather than defaulting to region-wide solutions.
- The RRP should not straddle a local election cycle, as this risks loss of momentum, changed direction, and voter confusion about what candidates are actually standing for.
- The costs of transitioning to a new governance structure must be identified early and funded clearly. It is expected that Central Government would, in part, fund set-up costs to alleviate a cost burden on local government.
- Multiple concurrent reforms are poorly aligned, creating uncertainty and rising costs for ratepayers and communities.
The Mayoral Forum is happy to meet with the DIA to discuss their submission.
