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 : Governance
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...
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...
Why good governance matters
Each council triennium we seem to have at least one council that maintains its place on our newspaper front pages for all the wrong reasons,...
Reform and the reality of regional delivery
Amalgamation is a lot more complex than simply joining with neighbouring councils. As structures change, there can be no gaps in delivery and no loss...
Our way or the highway
The Government, through RMA Reform and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop and Local Government Minister Simon Watts, has given councils a three-month ‘Head Start’ ultimatum to...