Where to from Here? Local Government in New Zealand after the New Local Government Act

A paper and presentation prepared for the Local Government New Zealand Conference, Rotorua, 29 July 2002. The purpose of the paper and presentation is to examine the topography of the territory in which local government in New Zealand will be situated after the Local Government Bill 2001 has been passed by Parliament. The paper traverses the purpose and scope of the Local Government Bill to assess what the “brave new world of local government in New Zealand” may look like. It provides an overview of the history of weak local government in New Zealand, and compares this with the new constitutional reach under the Local Government Bill. It then discusses a number of specific issues, including the development of cohesive communities, the future of regional government, and equity issues. It ends by posing questions for further rumination