Summarised by Centrist
The government’s push to scrap the “four wellbeings” from local government law has rattled bureaucrats but could finally rein in councils obsessed with doing everything but the basics.
The Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill passed its first reading this week, stripping references to “social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing” from the law.
Internal Affairs officials admit it won’t revolutionise council behaviour overnight, but that’s beside the point. As Local Government Minister Simon Watts put it, councils are “not mini-Parliaments; they are service delivery agencies.”
Officials grumble that the change may reduce “localism” and “stability,” citing the risk of disruption. But those same officials also admit the wellbeings are linked to higher rates and costly compliance. The data bears that out: rates tend to rise faster when councils are chasing wellbeing goals instead of maintaining pipes and roads. Watts said ratepayers are sick of footing the bill for “nice-to-haves” while infrastructure decays: “We want ratepayers to get value for money.”
Left-wing parties are framing the bill as a “power grab,” and warn it could affect Treaty settlements and development. But some councils welcomed the move, saying it helps them do fewer things better.
The bill may yet include a rates cap, with policy advice due before Christmas. That prospect has officials squirming, but for the public, who endured 9.6% average rate hikes this year while inflation sat at 2.2%, it’s long overdue.
