By DaveForCouncil, on August 26th, 2025
Source
Whakatāne district councillors have expressed surprise that cemeteries, public toilets, animal control, liquor licences and consents are not considered core services for councils by the Government.
“This is bizarre,” councillor Nandor Tanczos said.
“The (Coalition Government’s) list of core services doesn’t include a whole bunch of functions that the Government itself requires that . . . → Read More: Article: List of core services ‘bizarre’ – Tanczos
By Dexter, on August 26th, 2025
I have to assume when he says “rights”, he’s talking about the parties on the right, because the voter suppression efforts he is in support of have had a tendency to favour the “right”. . . . → Read More: Letter: favoring The ‘Right’
By DaveForCouncil, on August 22nd, 2025
Asked again if water costs would be cheaper, he said, “I’m out of time”, and walked into the debating chamber. . . . → Read More: Article: Government no longer saying its water reforms will be cheaper than Labour’s
By DaveForCouncil, on August 20th, 2025
Source Thomas Manch PDF
The Government has passed the final pieces of legislation required for its Local Water Done Well water reforms into law.
Both the Local Government (Water Services) Bill, and a separate repeals and amendments bill for this legislation, were passed on Tuesday afternoon, cementing into law a water reform programme years . . . → Read More: Article: Government passes its water reforms into law
By DaveForCouncil, on August 19th, 2025
Many councils will be delivering water services “in-house”, also limiting their debt-borrowing capacity. Already the Department of Internal Affairs has sent letters to six councils asking they reconsider going it alone, and join with their neighbours. But with the September 3 deadline approaching, the Government may instead be reaching for the stick. Local Government Minister Simon Watts can appoint Crown facilitators or specialists to push councils towards forging regional entities. This may mean the Government finds itself, to some degree, in the position Labour was — effectively compelling councils to work with their neighbours. And it would be doing so after letting councils determine their own fate and, in a case like Stratford District Council in Taranaki, acting on the views of their constituents. Essentially, the Government would be riding roughshod over local opinion. . . . → Read More: Article: The Government’s water reforms may not be going to plan
By DaveForCouncil, on August 18th, 2025
Wellington City Council did support several parts of the bill, such as measuring council performance, strengthening transparency and accountability and providing regulatory relief. Core services have been defined in the bill as network infrastructure, public transport services, waste management, civil defence emergency management, libraries, museums, reserves, and other recreational facilities. While museums were listed as a core service, festivals, live performances, stadiums, concert halls and large theatres were not. The submission points to the economic benefit of events such as the council-supported World of WearableArt show, which contributed more than $31 million to the city last year. . . . → Read More: Article: Wellington City Council pushes back on Government’s ‘back to basics’ bill
By DaveForCouncil, on August 11th, 2025
Mayors and chairs commented to the survey “that a share of the GST revenue generated in their districts should be returned to local government”, saying GST was the “clear favourite” revenue stream of people surveyed. Southland Mayor Gary Tong told the survey Treasury should “actively look at” the amount of road user charges and GST paid by people in his region, which was then spent in other parts of the country. Waipā District Council Mayor Jim Mylchreest said councils should get a “share of GST”, particularly the GST paid on council rates as well as a share of GST paid on the development of new sections. “LAs [local authorities] and developers provide all of the services and take all of the risks and Central Government pockets the GST on every new section created,” Mylchreest said. Act and National have recently floated similar ideas. National wants to at least explore the idea of councils getting the GST collected on rates, while Act has launched a policy to share half of the GST revenue earned from building a new house with whichever local council issued that house’s consent. . . . → Read More: Is Returning GST To Councils ‘Ultra Left Wing Spin’?
By DaveForCouncil, on August 8th, 2025 Source Dave Stewart PDF
Dave Stewart
In response to Lenore Craig’s letter (Denying democratic rights, Beacon July 30),there is one glaring issue with this that seems to have been left out of this discussion.
David Seymour proudly announcing his voter suppression measures has to be one of the most interesting exchanges of the current government’s . . . → Read More: Letter: National Party deeply divided
By DaveForCouncil, on August 6th, 2025
Source
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has released its final list of candidates for the upcoming local body elections in October 2025.
Governance Manager Steve Groom says he is pleased with the diversity and number of nominations received this year, noting that every regional council constituency will now hold an election.
“We have . . . → Read More: Article: Bay of Plenty Regional Council Confirms Candidates for 2025 Local Elections
By DaveForCouncil, on August 6th, 2025
“If you’re on the dormant roll, your record won’t show up on vote.nz, but you’ll be re-enrolled as soon as you fill in an enrolment form with your current address. “If you’ve got any concerns about your enrolment, please get in touch with our enrolment team on 0800 36 76 56 or enquiries@elections.govt.nz and they can check your enrolment.” . . . → Read More: Article: How to check your enrolment after concerns from voters
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