Councils from Thames-Coromandel, Queenstown, Marlborough, Rotorua and Auckland have to find fair ways to fund tourism infrastructure. David Hammond looks at some of the options.
On March 6 this year the Tenancy Tribunal awarded the owners of a Wellington house $1568 when their entrepreneurial tenants decided to let the owners’ home on...
Budget cuts are making councils in the UK adopt whole new ways of working and the creation of next generation councils. David Hammond calls for more innovation here too.
Imagine a council with a staff-owned mutual company to run some services. Picture several councils in an area pooling their budgets to run services. They’re maybe...
David Hammond argues that a travel tax must benefit all communities.
New Zealand communities celebrate with the tourism sector the success of our 2015 visitor industry boom. It seems that international tourism is set to become our country’s top export earner at over $13.5 billion. Much of that tourism benefit falls in our smaller...
Are councils willing or able to change the governance relationships they have with their communities? Thames-Coromandel District Council chief executive David Hammond looks at models to respond to increasing demands to devolve power to local citizens.
The historic settlement of Coroglen, known as Gumtown during its kauri milling days,...
So many senior people in local government have told us how much they rely on the all-round wonderfulness of their executive and personal assistants that we were keen to learn more. We put out a call to hear about those helpers who pile through the work, keep those around them grounded and save their bacon. Here are some of the best...
