Getting Auckland back in charge of transport
By Wayne Brown, Mayor of Auckland. Auckland’s system of planning transport is broken and is in desperate need of fixing. It’s too complex, with too...
Category : Guest editorial
Devolution is the next big thing
By Josie Pagani, political strategist and commentator. In a cosy basement bar in Copenhagen, my Danish friend and I were entertaining ourselves after a couple...
Where are we at with the water reform programme?
By CCNZ Chief Executive Alan Pollard. Most recently, CCNZ opposed the draft Water Services Legislation Bill, not challenging the need for reform, but challenging the...
Give us a local voice in RMA reform, too
By Mayor of Hamilton, Paula Southgate Everyone across the country, and certainly in local government, has focused extensively on the fast-moving, ever-changing arena of reform. ...
Fall-out from the 2022 elections – the grim reality
Another local election. Another bout of breast-beating over the lack of interest in standing for election and engaging in the act of voting. By Dr...
DEMOCRACY & FREE SPEECH – two sides of the same coin
By Jonathan Ayling, chief executive, Free Speech Union. Democracy and free speech are two sides of the same coin. It is hard to imagine a...
Three waters reform is far from inevitable
By Louis Houlbrooke, Campaigns manager, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. This summer [2021-2022], holidaying politicians, public servants, and local councillors were faced with the stark depth...
Case for a stronger central/local government relationship
By Dr Jean Drage. The three waters debate is the latest in the ongoing friction that continues to play out between the two levels of...
Time for a change
Christopher Luxton, Local Government spokesperson, National Party. There is no doubt that it is a challenging time for local government across New Zealand. While some...
Fixing local government: get the basics right
By Monique Poirier, campaigns manager, Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance. The case for local government boils down to the belief that a local community has a better...