The Green Party says today's local government reorganisation announcement is fundamentally undemocratic, shows a lack of understanding of how local government operates, and ignores the findings of the Government's own expert bodies.
"Today's announcement is fundamentally undemocratic and a cynical move in election year. None of the coalition parties campaigned on this," says Green Party spokesperson for Local Government, Mike Davidson.
"It shows a disregard for community input, and ignores the findings of both the independent Infrastructure Commission and the Future for Local Government Working Group."
Councils are in the middle of working on their Annual Plans, which must be signed off by the end of June. They are simultaneously working through sweeping reforms to the Resource Management Act, emergency management, rates caps, and the local government sector itself.
"Councils are trying to balance maintaining and building infrastructure with keeping rates affordable. This timeline leaves little time for the thoughtful and thorough cross-council mahi needed by elected members and staff, and no time to engage communities in what their future might be."
"It's death by a thousand cuts. The Government originally gave councils years to consider these changes, and is now giving top-down direction that ignores community voice. This is all from a Government who claimed, over and over, to be about localism."
"These decisions are complex and need options to be explored, with input from a wide range of stakeholders. Councils have different water governance structures, major assets like ports and airports, and different community needs."
"Transitional boards and political appointments hand-picked by the Ministers will undermine democratic decision-making at a local level. That's something the National Party campaigned on at the last election, and something they have failed to deliver on."
"The National Party continue to blame others rather than tackle the biggest issues councils and our communities actually face: aging infrastructure, affordability driven by a lack of alternative funding tools, rising inequality, and the increasing impact of climate-driven weather events."
"The Greens oppose this top-down approach. We urge the Government to work with councils and communities to come up with enduring solutions that will best serve our communities now and into the future," says Davidson.
