Local Government Act 2002

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Purpose

The purpose of this Act is to provide for democratic and effective local government that recognises the diversity of New Zealand communities; and, to that end, this Act—

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(a)     provides for local authorities to play a broad role in promoting the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of their communities, taking a sustainable development approach.

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Treaty of Waitangi

In order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and to maintain and improve opportunities for Māori to contribute to local government decision-making processes, Parts 2 and 6 provide principles and requirements for local authorities that are intended to facilitate participation by Māori in local authority decision-making processes.

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Interpretation

(1)     In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

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communityoutcomes means the outcomes that a local authority aims to achieve in order to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of its district or region, in the present and for the future.

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Purpose of local government

The purpose of local government is—

(a)        to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and

(b)       to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities, in the present and for the future.

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Principles relating to local authorities

(1)        In performing its role, a local authority must act in accordance with the following principles:

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(c)        when making a decision, a local authority should take account of—

(i)         the diversity of the community, and the community’s interests, within its district or region; and

(ii)        the interests of future as well as current communities; and

(iii)       the likely impact of any decision on each aspect of well-being referred to in section 10;

(d)       a local authority should provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to its decision-making processes;

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(h)        in taking a sustainable development approach, a local authority should take into account—

(i)         the social, economic, and cultural well-being of people and communities; and

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Local governance statements

(1)      A local authority must prepare and make publicly available, following the triennial general election of members, a local governance statement that includes information on—

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(d)     representation arrangements, including the option of establishing Māori wards or constituencies, and the opportunity to change them; and

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(h)        consultation policies; and

(i)         policies for liaising with, and memoranda or agreements with, Māori; and

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Part 6

Planning, decision-making, and accountability

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Outline of Part This Part—

(a)        sets out obligations of local authorities in relation to the making of decisions;

(b)        states the obligations of local authorities in relation to the involvement of Māori in decision-making processes;

(c)        states the obligations of local authorities in relation to consultation with interested and affected persons;

(d)        sets out the nature and use of the special consultative procedure;

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Requirements in relation to decisions

(1)        A local authority must, in the course of the decision-making process,—

(a)        seek to identify all reasonably practicable options for the achievement of the objective of a decision; and

(b)       assess those options by considering—

(i)         the benefits and costs of each option in terms of the present and future social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of the district or region; and

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(c)        if any of the options identified under paragraph (a) involves a significant decision in relation to land or a body of water, take into account the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna, and other taonga.

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Contributions to decision-making processesby Māori

(1)        A local authority must—

(a)        establish and maintain processes to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority; and

(b)       consider ways in which it may foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority; and

(c)        provide relevant information to Māori for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b).

(2)        A local authority, in exercising its responsibility to make judgments about the manner in which subsection (1) is to be complied with, must have regard to—

(a)        the role of the local authority, as set out in section 11; and

(b)       such other matters as the local authority considers on reasonable grounds to be relevant to those judgments.

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Principles of consultation

(1)        Consultation that a local authority undertakes in relation to any decision or other matter must be undertaken, subject to subsections (3) to (5), in accordance with the following principles:

(a)        that persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter should be provided by the local authority with reasonable access to relevant information in a manner and format that is appropriate to the preferences and needs of those persons;

(b)       that persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter should be encouraged by the local authority to present their views to the local authority;

(c)        that persons who are invited or encouraged to present their views to the local authority should be given clear information by the local authority concerning the purpose of the consultation and the scope of the decisions to be taken following the consideration of views presented;

(d)       that persons who wish to have their views on the decision or matter considered by the local authority should be provided by the local authority with a reasonable opportunity to present those views to the local authority in a manner and format that is appropriate to the preferences and needs of those persons;

(e)        that the views presented to the local authority should be received by the local authority with an open mind and should be given by the local authority, in making a decision, due consideration;

(f)        that persons who present views to the local authority should be provided by the local authority with information concerning both the relevant decisions and the reasons for those decisions.

(2)        A local authority must ensure that it has in place processes for consulting with Māori in accordance with subsection (1).

(3)        The principles set out in subsection (1) are, subject to subsections (4) and (5), to be observed by a local authority in such manner as the local authority considers, in its discretion, to be appropriate in any particular instance.

(4)        A local authority must, in exercising its discretion under subsection (3), have regard to—

(a)        the requirements of section 78; and

(b)       the extent to which the current views and preferences of persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter are known to the local authority; and

(c)        the nature and significance of the decision or matter, including its likely impact from the perspective of the persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter; and

(d)       the provisions of Part 1 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (which Part, among other things, sets out the circumstances in which there is good reason for withholding local authority information); and

(e)        the costs and benefits of any consultation process or procedure.

(5)        Where a local authority is authorised or required by this Act or any other enactment to undertake consultation in relation to any decision or matter and the procedure in respect of that consultation is prescribed by this Act or any other enactment, such of the provisions of the principles set out in subsection (1) as are inconsistent with specific requirements of the procedure so prescribed are not to be observed by the local authority in respect of that consultation.

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Long-term plan

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(6)      The purpose of a long-term plan is to—

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(b)     describe the community outcomes of the local authority's district or region; and

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Financial management

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(3)        The funding needs of the local authority must be met from those sources that the local authority determines to be appropriate, following consideration of,—

(a)        in relation to each activity to be funded,—

(i)         the community outcomes to which the activity primarily contributes; and

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(b)       the overall impact of any allocation of liability for revenue needs on the current and future social, economic, environmental, and

culturalwell-being of the community.

102(2)(e)

Funding andfinancial policies

(1)        A local authority must, in order to provide predictability and certainty about sources and levels of funding, adopt the funding and financial policies listed in subsection (2).

(2)        The policies are—

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(e)      a policy on the remission and postponement of rates on Māori freehold land.

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Policyon remission and postponement of rates on Māori freehold land

(1)        If a policy adopted under section 102(1) provides for the remission of rates on Māori freehold land, the policy must state—

(a)        the objectives sought to be achieved by the remission of rates; and

(b)       the conditions and criteria to be met in order for rates to be remitted. (2) If a policy adopted under section 102(1) provides for the postponement of the requirement to pay rates on Māori freehold land, the policy must state—

(i)         the objectives sought to be achieved by a postponement of the requirement to pay rates; and

(ii)        the conditions and criteria to be met in order for the requirement to pay rates to be postponed.

(3)        For the avoidance of doubt, a policy adopted under section 102(1) is not required to provide for the remission of, or postponement of the requirement to pay, rates on Māori freehold land.

(4)        In determining a policy under section 102(1), the local authority must consider the matters set out in Schedule 11.

(4A)   A policy adopted under section 102(1) must be reviewed at least once every 6 years using the special consultative procedure.

(5)        For the purposes of this section, the term rate includes penalties payable on unpaid rates.

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Power of regional councils to make bylaws

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(2)      Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), bylaws may be made in relation to the matters listed in subsection (1) for the purpose of managing, regulating against, or protecting from, damage, misuse, or loss, or for preventing the use of,—

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(b)     sites or places on land of the regional council that have cultural, historical, recreational, scientific, or other community or amenity values.

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development contribution means a contribution—

(a)        provided for in a development contribution policy included in the long-term plan of a territorial authority; and

(b)        calculated in accordance with the methodology; and

(c)        comprising—

(i)         money; or

(ii)        land, including a reserve or esplanade reserve (other than in relation to a subdivision consent), but excluding Māori land within the meaning of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993, unless that Act provides otherwise; or

(iii)       both.

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Use of development contributions for reserves

A territorial authority must use a development contribution received for reserves purposes for the purchase or development of reserves within its district, which may include—

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(d)      payment, on terms and conditions the territorial authority thinks fit, to—

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(iii)     the trustees or body corporate in whom is vested a Māori reservation to which section 340 of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 applies, to enhance the reservation for cultural or other purposes;

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Schedule 3

Reorganisation of local authorities

clause 12

Duties of joint committee of affectedlocal authorities or appointed local authorityin relation to proposal

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(3)        The joint committee of the affected local authorities or the appointed local authority must—

(a)        give public notice of the draft reorganisation scheme; and

(b)       send a copy of the draft reorganisation scheme to—

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(vii)      the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kōkiri; and

(viii)     any affected Māori organisations identified by Te Puni Kōkiri; and

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clause 37

Consultation on proposalby Commission

(1)        As soon as practicable after receiving a reorganisation proposal, the Commission must —

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(b)       give public notice of the proposal, which must —

(i)         advise the location where the proposal may be inspected or how a copy of the proposal may be obtained; and

(ii)        invite submissions on the proposal; and

(c)        seek the views of —

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(vii)      the Chief Executive of Te Puni Kokiri; and

(viii)     any affected Māori organisations identified by Te Puni Kokiri; and

(ix)       any other persons or organisations that the Commission considers appropriate.

Schedule 7

Local authorities and communityboards, and their members

clause 36

Local authorityto be good employer

(1)        A local authority, and any other person having responsibility for the selection and management of employees of the local authority, must operate a personnel policy that complies with the principle of being a good employer.

(2)        For the purposes of this clause, a good employer means an employer who operates a personnel policy containing provisions generally accepted as necessary for the fair and proper treatment of employees in all aspects of their employment, including provisions requiring—

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(d)       recognition of—

(i)         the aims and aspirations of Māori; and

(ii)        the employment requirements of Māori; and

(iii)       the need for greater involvement of Māori in local government employment; and

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Schedule 10

Long-term plans, annualplans, and annual reports

clause 1

Community outcomes

A long-term plan must, to the extent determined appropriate by the local authority, describe the community outcomes for the local authority's district or region.

clause 2

Groups of activities

(1)      A long-term plan must, in relation to each group of activities of the local authority,—

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(c)      outline any significant negative effects that any activity within the group of activities may have on the social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the local community;

clause 8

Development of Māori capacity to contribute to decision-making processes

A long-term plan must set out any steps that the local authority intends to take, having undertaken the consideration required by section 81(1)(b), to foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority over the period covered by that plan.

clause 23

Groups of activities

An annual report must, in relation to each group of activities of the local authority,—

(a)        identify the activities within the group of activities; and

(b)        identify the community outcomes to which the group of activities primarily contributes; and

(c)        report the results of any measurement undertaken during the year of progress towards the achievement of those outcomes; and

(d)        describe any identified effects that any activity within the group of activities has had on the social, economic, environmental, or cultural well-being of the community.

clause 35

General

An annual report must include a report on the activities that the local authority has undertaken in the year to establish and maintain processes to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority.

Schedule 11

Matters relating to rates relief on Māori freehold land

clause 1

1        The matters that the local authority must consider under section 108(4) are—

(a)        the desirability and importance within the district of each of the objectives in clause 2; and

(b)       whether, and to what extent, the attainment of any of those objectives could be prejudicially affected if there is no remission of rates or postponement of the requirement to pay rates on Māori freehold land; and

(c)        whether, and to what extent, the attainment of those objectives is likely to be facilitated by the remission of rates or postponement of the requirement to pay rates on Māori freehold land; and

(d)     the extent to which different criteria and conditions for rates relief may contribute to different objectives.

clause 2

2        The objectives referred to in clause 1 are—

(a)        supporting the use of the land by the owners for traditional purposes;

(b)       recognising and supporting the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral lands;

(c)        avoiding further alienation of Māori freehold land;

(d)       facilitating any wish of the owners to develop the land for economic use;

(e)        recognising and taking account of the presence of waahi tapu that may affect the use of the land for other purposes;

(f)        recognising and taking account of the importance of the land in providing economic and infrastructure support for marae and associated papakāinga housing (whether on the land or elsewhere);

(g)       recognising and taking account of the importance of the land for community goals relating to—

(i)         the preservation of the natural character of the coastal environment;

(ii)        the protection of outstanding natural features;

(iii)       the protection of significant indigenous vegetation and significant habitats of indigenous fauna;

(h)        recognising the level of community services provided to the land and its occupiers;

(i)         recognising matters related to the physical accessibility of the land.