Central Government and Local Government in New Zealand: What do they do?

When I stepped into advocating for active transport and public transport about 13 years ago, it took me quite a while to work out how the different layers of government fit together and produce outcomes on the ground. As I’ve been talking to people about local government and what it does, I’ve learned that I'm not the only one who has problems trying to put how our Government in NZ works.

Of course there is no way to explain it fully in a short post.  I'm aiming simply to provide a wee summary of what happens and how central government relates to local government, in particular.

Central government is elected in a general election every three years when we vote for our members of parliament.  Parliament writes most of the laws under which we operate in New Zealand. Laws include things like the Local Government Act and the Resource Management Act. 

Once a law is in place, the government develops policy with the help of their departments or ministries. That policy sets a course of action for the country.  

Local Government is elected every three years in local body elections, like the ones coming up later this year.   

In Canterbury, our local government consists of the Christchurch City Council and the Canterbury Regional Council/ Environment Canterbury. 

The City Council provides infrastructure and services for residents and business - from water pipes and local road maintenance, to sewage treatment and parks and playgrounds.  The Regional Council has more of an environmental focus and Regulates activities that affect our land, water and air.  It functions across a number of District and City Council areas.  

The things these councils must, can and cannot do are set out in a range of legislation including the Local Government Act and the Resource Management Act AND in the policy statements that central government issues. 

Within that, councils have a lot of say over what happens on the ground, locally.  They decide on things like upgrading local roads, setting speed limits, where housing goes, how to deal with flooding, and providing cycle and walking facilities.  They also build and run local facilities like libraries, community centres, playgrounds, collect our rubbish and get water to our taps and sewage processed. These things are done by the paid staff in the organisation or contractors, once the elected councillors decide how money will be spent.  They will debate things like how much to spend on, strengthening local communities, or providing free events or improving the safety of our roads, or, indeed, whether to spend more money on a stadium. 

 Local government has a significant impact on our daily lives, so it is important to size up the candidates who are standing and vote for the people that you think will work hard, and weigh up the issues (both short and long term) before making the best decisions that they can for our city. 

Oh! And don’t sit back once you have voted good people in. If they are good, they will want to know how you feel about issues they are deciding on and how you think they will affect you.  When you participate in having your say, the views expressed by submitters gives your local body members a steer in how they should make their decisions.