Kaikohe Business Association
Chairperson: Steve Sangster – Secretary: Elodie Vujcich - Treasurer: Joe Nol
PO Box 497 KAIKOHE 0440
Contact Details GST 103-589-665
21 February, 2014
Local Government Commission
PO Box 5362
Wellington (per email)
Dear Commissioners,
The Kaikohe Business Association does not support this proposal.
This submission is made on behalf of this Association and its membership.
The Kaikohe Business Association wishes to appear before the Commission at a public hearing.
Summary:
The Kaikohe Business Association supports initiatives to improve Local Government structures and governance.
Our membership is drawn from a wide area reaching as far West as the Hokianga Harbour.
The timing of this draft is poor because relevant legislation is not finalised.
The time allowed for consideration and response to this proposal is unreasonably short given the gravity of the changes - the timeframe included the summer break. This only served to increase community scepticism of the motives for it.
The status quo should remain until such time as the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill No 3 is passed, at which time a serious proposal should be developed for community consultation.
We submit that the logical headquarters for a Unitary Authority should remain in Kaikohe:
Kaikohe is the geographic centre of Northland, as Wellington is the geographic centre of Aotearoa / New Zealand;
Kaikohe is the home of Ngapuhi, Aotearoa / New Zealand’s largest iwi;
To move the headquarters elsewhere would unreasonably impact the town’s economy and its businesses;
Any loss of jobs and economic decline must be mitigated by any proposal – this draft fails to address adverse effects;
Rural communities, and in particular Kaikohe, would be unnecessarily jeopardised socially, as a result of any job losses, depopulation and reduced economic activity.
Any proposal must incorporate strong local representation for it to work; any change will last for at least a generation and better effort must be made to achieve positive outcomes.
The draft proposal fails to demonstrate any benefit to this community and its environs.
Rates are already a larger proportional burden on the local population which has very low incomes – the formation of Unitary Authorities has proven to result in increased rates burdens, an unreasonable impost for no proven benefit.
The Draft proposal relies upon legislation being enacted which is yet to reach Select Committee stage, hence it is premature and mischievous.
Communities have consistently made clear that they want more powers and responsibility for local decision making – i.e. more “local” in Local Government.” Centralising governance and power to a larger “super” Council will have the opposite effect. It will:
Further disengage local people from their local government and loss of local identity.
Further remove central decision makers from the understanding and appreciation of local problems, collective wisdom, solutions, and resources held by our local communities.
Further remove local understanding of Council delivery constraints and problems from local communities.
Make it even more difficult for local people to become councillors in poorer rural areas.
Result in mayors predominantly being elected from the Whangarei district, as more than 50% of the electorate is concentrated there;
Erode community trust in its governing bodies.
Efficiency gains are specious and unproven. Amalgamation is estimated to save only $5 million, primarily based on reduced staff numbers. This is a relatively meagre saving and could easily be lost when the full impact of merging diverse tools and systems is fully accounted. It is noted that the Auckland City Council mergers resulted in no cost savings and rates climbed by ten percent almost immediately.
Key legislative changes are not in place. In particular:
Legislative changes required for Local Boards to be allowed in small communities is not passed and we have not seen the form it will take;
Local Boards have no real financial and strategic powers, nor is there any clear direction on how they will be funded to perform any delegated authority. They have far less powers than Council and may not be permitted to levy rates, pass bylaws, borrow money, employ staff or buy and sell assets.
The Association supports the application by the Far North District Council to become a Unitary Authority. In the absence of approval for this application, legislative changes that are still being formulated, and given the short time “to get it right”, we submit that local government in Northland should retain the status quo – three District Councils and one Regional Council at this time.
This Association strongly desires to see empowered, sustainable communities accountable for their own problems and solutions, supported by a strong and resilient local economy, leading to a healthy and balanced local community and environment.
The Draft Proposal is extensively specious on Economic Development for Northland. It identifies high levels of deprivation in the north and west of Northland, and growth in the south and east. By proposing to provide for the administrative centre to be in Whangarei, the proposal would exacerbate these problems for the north and west, and reward the south. This is unreasonable.
Any loss of work opportunities would be felt by Far North District staff who live locally. Many have roots to the Kaikohe and Hokianga area, and may not be able to shift south to Whangarei to continue working in Council – unless mitigated by outsourcing other Branch or Council services to replace what has been relocated. With the lack of other work opportunities in Kaikohe, there would almost certainly be an increase in the number of unemployed. Or some will not go down this path and just become a part of a lower income household. While an increase in unemployment benefits is not a cost on the local ratepayers, it is a cost to the country as the taxpayer picks up the bill and social cohesion is threatened.
Contributing to the deprivation of Kaikohe was government’s decision to build a 350 bed prison (now 550) in nearby Ngawha. This prison amounts to community abuse by government. The community is not equipped to handle the negative impacts of prisoners being released into Kaikohe at the end of their sentences, or dealing with their families who resettle into Kaikohe to be near their family in the prison. The town is suffering from increased criminal and anti-social behaviours and the Commission’s draft proposal is to decrease the level of employment opportunities in the town, by relocating the administrative centre for a Northland Council to Whangarei.