Local democracy swept aside
If amalgamation weakened accountability and drove costs up in 1989, is there any reason to believe that even more heavy-handed mergers can deliver the opposite...
Category : comment
Lessons from setting up a new water entity
Creating a new organisation is not the finish line; it’s the foundation on which long-term success depends, writes Jaron Shaw, Establishment Programme Director for Waikato...
And the early winners are…
Each potential coalition of councils has essentially had to outsource the work around amalgamation to a consultancy because of a lack of internal capacity and capability, write...
Making balance sheets work harder
Councils must balance market risk with liquidity, inflation and concentration risk, writes Brett Moffat, Senior Consultant, Russell Investments. Brett is giving a talk at the...
Democracy or autocracy?
As the Government mulls over the proposals for how councils propose to reorganise themselves under the Head Start pathway of Simplifying Local Government, we must...
A red card system for councils?
I hope you enjoyed the FIFA World Cup 2026 as much as I did. It is amazing how exciting, dramatic and emotional it can be watching...
All the reform, everywhere, all at once
If local government feels overwhelmed at the moment, that is because almost every lever that shapes the sector is being pulled at once, writes Gwynn...
Reform agenda: the right starting point
Success is a system where local government is a genuine partner in national development. Resourced, empowered and expected to lead, writes Nick Leggett, the Chief...
Budget 2026 – Cost of stopping and procurement
Funding announcements create direction, but they do not deliver outcomes on their own, writes Clever Buying founder Caroline Boot. Budget announcements are often read through...
Head Start is just the beginning
We are only just at the beginning of local government amalgamation in New Zealand. Head Start is not the destination, it is the starting point...