Reforming the Local Government Act: Priorities for Transparency, Accountability, and Democratic Integrity
Reynold Macpherson* ( and to read the Rotorua Residents and Ratepayers' Association's submission , click here ).
The Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) was introduced to establish democratic and effective governance while acknowledging New Zealand’s diverse communities. Despite its promising foundation, practical application has revealed critical deficiencies that undermine its goals and highlight the need for urgent reform. The government’s recent announcement of reforms to local government emphasizes the timeliness of its revision.
One significant flaw in the LGA is its vague provisions regarding the roles and responsibilities of elected members and officials. This ambiguity has led to overlapping duties and, in some cases, abuses of power. For instance, the Act requires councils to separate policymaking from management and to promote openness and transparency, but these principles are often disregarded.
The lack of alignment with international best practices exacerbates these issues. Governance frameworks in countries like the UK and Australia emphasize ethical principles such as political impartiality, integrity, and transparency—values insufficiently embedded in the LGA. While political neutrality is a cornerstone of the Public Service Act 2020 that applies to public servants in central government, it is absent from the LGA, leaving a gap that undermines impartiality, impedes inter-level cooperation and erodes public trust in local governance.
Beyond ethical principles, the Act also lacks a structured framework for policymaking and implementation. Councils frequently operate without clear timelines or transparent consultation processes, which diminishes public confidence. Implementing a standardized model for policy cycles could ensure decisions are both timely and credible, reinforcing the legitimacy of council actions.
With regard to policy making, the Act could locate responsibility with elected members and to be led by the mayor for (a) the philosophical processes of reflection and consultation to determine the rightness (tika) of policies, with expert input from disinterested officials, (b) the strategic planning processes they employ to identify and evaluate options and (c) the political processes they use to make decisions and mobilise support for them.
The Act could also locate responsibility for policy implementation with council officials led by the Chief Executive by clarifying (d) the cultural actions of legitimating and mobilising changed practices in council organization, (e) the managerial activity of organizing teams and programmes to achieve objectives and (f) specify the evaluation criteria and processes of formative evaluation to underpin reporting and to start the next round of the policy cycle, with each phase reported to elected members.
Another pressing concern is the limited oversight mechanisms within the LGA, which allow for the potential bypassing of accountability. Secretive meetings and undue privileges granted to specific groups at ‘Protocols’ meetings have fuelled distrust and reduced confidence in democratic processes. Strengthening the Act to mandate transparency, clarify responsibilities, and embed ethical standards would bring New Zealand’s local governance in line with international norms.
A particularly contentious issue is the weaponization of Codes of Conduct (COCs). Intended to foster respectful and professional behaviour, these codes have often been misused to target and cancel dissenting voices within councils. This undermines democratic principles such as freedom of expression and association. Establishing an independent Local Government Ombudsman to review COC complaints would reduce conflicts of interest and restore confidence in these governance tools.
The broader issue of information access also requires attention. Although the LGA mandates councils to provide timely and accurate information to elected members, disputes over withheld or delayed data have strained relationships between councils and communities. Clearer policies, including explicit timelines and escalation procedures, would promote transparency and enhance trust. Again, a Local Government Ombudsman could serve as a neutral arbiter in such disputes, ensuring impartiality and fostering stronger governance practices.
Collaborative governance is another area in need of reform. While councils are expected to engage non-governmental stakeholders in addressing shared challenges, these efforts have often been uneven and inconsistent. In some cases, collaboration has been reduced to reflecting the priorities of dominant council factions, sidelining broader community input. By clearly defining collaborative governance and mandating inclusive, transparent, and accountable processes, the Act could better balance competing interests and foster trust among diverse stakeholders.
Public engagement is a cornerstone of democratic governance, yet the existing mechanisms for consultation frequently fall short. Revising the LGA to require inclusive and transparent engagement processes would ensure that all stakeholders have meaningful opportunities to participate at specified times during the policy cycle. Standardized engagement practices, coupled with regular external audits of council performance, would help rebuild public trust and confidence.
Annual reporting is another area ripe for improvement. These reports are intended to provide communities with clear evaluations of council performance, yet they are often dense and inaccessible. Simplifying the language, incorporating data-driven assessments, and conducting external audits of these reports would increase transparency and enable communities to hold councils accountable.
The question of Māori participation in local government decision-making also warrants careful consideration. While Section 4 of the LGA emphasizes the importance of Māori involvement, its interpretation has sometimes created tensions over co-governance and perceptions of unequal representation. Amending the Act to clarify the scope of Māori participation while ensuring principles of equal suffrage are upheld would help resolve these disputes. Initiatives should focus on fostering democratic representation that values all voices within a community.
The LGA mandates councils to practice prudent financial management. However, it simultaneously allows for debt-based long-term planning, often implemented without a clear debt reduction strategy. This has led to escalating debt levels. The core issue is that while the Act requires councils to balance their budgets, exceptions can be made if justified through long-term plans and community engagement, creating a potential tension between fiscal responsibility and strategic planning flexibility.
Restoring trust between councils and their communities requires systemic changes to address these weaknesses in the LGA. Reforms should prioritize transparency, equitable consultation processes, and robust accountability mechanisms. Councils must also adopt practices that encourage collaboration with community groups and stakeholders, reinforcing democratic integrity.
To achieve these goals, the LGA must evolve to balance the empowerment of local authorities with the protection of democratic principles. Strengthening ethical standards, implementing clear governance frameworks, and ensuring inclusivity are crucial steps toward building a system that reflects fairness, integrity, and public confidence. These reforms are not merely desirable—they are essential for creating a more accountable, effective, and inclusive local government framework in New Zealand.
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*Reynold Macpherson has led the Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers for a decade. He has a PhD in large system leadership, led the turnround of Waiariki Polytechnic and startup of Abu Dhabi University, held four professorial chairs internationally and has published 17 books and 77 research papers.
Rotorua Residents and Ratepayers' Association Inc.
https://rdrr.nz/
to read the Rotorua Residents and Ratepayers' Association's submission On Reforming the Local Government Act: Priorities for Transparency, Accountability, and Democratic Integrity click here.