Business groups launch Local Government Manifesto

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Business groups say local government needs to be more focussed on its core business, to ease the disturbing growth in the country’s rates bill.

Members of the Local Government Forum present their ideas on reform for the sector in ‘Democracy and Performance: A Manifesto for Local Government’.

The report will be launched at 10am, Wednesday March 14, at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Level 9, 109 Featherston St, Wellington.

The Forum’s chair, Don Nicolson, says while an efficient and effective local government sector is crucial for New Zealand’s economic, environmental and social wellbeing – the current practice and performance of the sector is decidedly mixed.

“Infrastructure pressures, compliance costs and an expansion into new roles and responsibilities have also been behind big spending increases and rates rises which are driving many ratepayers to despair,” he says.

The business community pays about 50 per cent of the country’s total rates bill and is heavily impacted by council rules and policies, making local government an important issue for businesses as well as households.

Further facts on the local government sector include:

- Total operating revenue amounted to $5 billion for the year 2004/05, of which total rates, licence fees and fines comprised $3 billion.
- Total operating spending amounted to $4.7 billion.
- Over the next ten years it expects to spend almost $31 billion on capital expenditure – 2.4 times its expenditure in the ten years to 2004/2005.
- Ratepayers’ equity is a massive $67 billion or $16,300 per capita. That’s equivalent to the value of all securities listed on the NZX and is almost double taxpayers’ equity in central government.




Mr Nicolson says it’s important such a big player in the economy operates as efficiently and effectively as possible, and that the costs of its contribution don’t outweigh the benefits.

“2007 looks like being a watershed year for the local government sector and its ratepayers, with the Rates Inquiry taking a fresh look at local government funding; local government elections looming in October; and with political parties formulating their policies for the 2008 General Election,” he says.

“The Forum believes that the direction set out in Democracy and Performance would help produce a local government sector that is more focused, more efficient, and ultimately less costly for ratepayers.”

Recommendations are made across a number of areas including investments, roles and responsibilities, funding, regulation, structure and governance.

“Forum members are pleased to provide Democracy and Performance as a constructive contribution to the debate on local government policy,” says Mr Nicolson.


For more information, contact: Don Nicolson, chair - ph 03 216 7602 or 027 226 6331.



The Local Government Forum was formed in 1994 to promote efficiency in local government. Its members are Business New Zealand, Electricity Networks Association, Federated Farmers of New Zealand, the New Zealand Business Roundtable, the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce and the New Zealand Forest Owners Association.