Working Together

Posted by Frana Cardno on 14 May 2009 | 0 Comments

Tags: local government, The Long Term Community Council Plan, water

Having spent the last few days in Wellington at meetings has reminded me of all of the advantages of local government working together.

The importance of having an organisation such as Local Government New Zealand, which is the voice of the large majority of councils in New Zealand, was reinforced to me and I am proud to be the representative for Waitaki South on this board.
Most importantly, our new Government's Ministers said they see it as an excellent tool to communicate with councils collectively and they would not have the time to talk to each council individually.
The economies of scale mean that local government has to have a strong voice in Wellington and that voice is made up from the collective wisdom of all councils, both rural and urban. Many of the people with me on this board are very successful businesspeople in their own right.

Comments have been made that local government keeps getting costly legislative requirements put on it by Central Government and doesn't get the funding and in same cases this is correct.
The Long Term Community Council Plan process, which is relatively new to local government, is being held up by some as an example of this, but in fact we believe these plans are very important for our communities. All Councils have long-term assets that need to maintained and renewed in the future and it is extremely important for our communities to know when upgrades may need to happen and so they can budget for it in future years.

Southland District Council, alone, is a $65 million a year business and it is essential that everyone in Council, our residents and communities know what is being planned for this year and in the future years. It will not work if we bounce from one project to another each year as we simply must plan to have viable communities.

We have always fought against requirements being devolved down to us without funding but even so, there are also benefits in taking responsibility as we can then make decisions for our own areas because no community is the same.

We all know that water is one of our most precious resources and we only need to have one water crisis, where people are hospitalised, to see how damaging the fallout would be. Drinking water quality is hugely important and we must ensure everyone has access throughout NZ to viable water supplies, essential for healthy communities and for promoting New Zealand as a safe and healthy place.

Having a partnership with Central Government is incredibly important. We have and will in the future work together for the benefit of all New Zealanders.