Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Our vision
Labour believes in local democracy and the right of communities to have a say on major
decisions affecting them. We believe local decisions are best made locally.
We are committed to a close and collaborative working relationship with local government to
ensure it is empowered and resourced to meet the needs of its communities.
Our vision is to ensure local government is responsive and accountable to local
communities, affordable for its residents and ratepayers and effective in dealing with local
issues.
Local decisions by local people
Local government has a vital role in our overall system of government and we believe that
role should be respected. We are concerned that the role of local government has been
undermined by decisions that the current Government has made, such as the forced
amalgamation imposed on Auckland without giving people a say, and the sacking of
Canterbury Regional Council and suspended elections.
Local governments need clearly mandated areas wherein they are responsible to local
people for the decisions they make about local services. They need access to adequate
resources to fulfil these mandates and deliver the outcomes they are responsible for.
Agreements on the scope of these mandates must be forged between central and local
government, but local voices must have a say as to what services and outcomes they want
delivered, and who they want to be delivering them.
Labour will carry out a parliamentary inquiry into the role of local authorities in our
system of government, with the aim of establishing a clearer schedule of mandates,
roles and responsibilities, and related funding flows for effective and responsive local
government. We will enshrine the key principles aligning mandates, functional
responsibilities, and adequate budget resourcing for these in a schedule to the Local
Government Act.
Labour will not impose any forced amalgamations (like Auckland) without giving
citizens final say in a referendum as set out in the Local Government Act.
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