Local government

A list of our content (including reports, articles, blog posts, and published letters) about the local government sector (city, district, and unitary councils, and council-controlled organisations).
Engagement of consultants by Horowhenua District Council

31 January 2023: We wrote to the Chief Executive of Horowhenua District Council after concerns were raised with us about the engagement by the Council of external consultants to provide services in relation to the Levin landfill.

Setting up a council’s Audit and Risk Committee

13 October 2022: An Audit and Risk Committee provides a council’s governing body – the set of all elected councillors – and the community with confidence that a council is managing its risks. Here we provide suggestions for how best to set up and run such a committee.

Council communications during the 2022 pre-election period

14 June 2022: Councils need to take care to make sure that council communications are not used, or appear to be used, for political purposes. Here are some of the main things councils should watch out for when making decisions about communication during this pre-election period.

Masterton Civic Facility Project

26 May 2022: We wrote to the Chief Executive of Masterton District Council after concerns were raised with us about aspects of the Council's Civic Centre Project.

Consulting matters: Observations on the 2021-31 consultation documents

December 2021: Councils need to provide their communities with reliable and clear information about the matters proposed for inclusion in their long-term plan and the costs of these so that their community can engage with and provide feedback on this. This report provides our observations on councils' 2021-31 long-term plan consultation documents.

Our observations on local government risk management practices

October 2021:We have previously reported that risk management was one of the least mature elements of governance in the public sector. Therefore, we carried out work to better understand the current state of councils' risk management, where the challenges and issues are, and what support councils need to improve how they manage risk.

Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968: A guide for members of local authorities on managing financial conflicts of interest

June 2020: The Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968 (the Act) is somewhat out of date and difficult to understand, and the rules are not always easy to apply in a modern local government context. That is why we have written this plain English guide. We want members who are covered by the Act, and those advising them, to be aware of the Act's rules and the steps they need to take to ensure that they do not inadvertently breach them. This guide also explains our statutory functions under the Act.

Local government procurement

May 2020: Last year we visited 21 councils throughout New Zealand to see how they carry out procurement. We heard about the challenges councils are facing and where they felt they could improve. Based on these visits, and observations from our other work on procurement, we wrote an article that poses a series of questions about procurement practice and culture.

Councillors' guide to the Auditor-General

September 2019: This booklet is for the elected members of councils and for new members in particular. It gives an overview of the Auditor-General's role and also outlines the kinds of interaction they can expect with the Auditor-General and with his staff.

Managing freshwater quality: Challenges and opportunities

September 2019: In 2011, we published a report on how effectively Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland managed the effects of land use on freshwater quality in their regions. We found that the effectiveness of the four regional councils' approaches was variable. In this report, we assess the progress they have made since 2011.

Author portrait picture Responding to a changing climate
by Kristin Aitken — posted on Aug 01, 2019

Sector Manager Kristin Aitken from our Local Government team delves into some of the terms used by councils and experts in their efforts to address the effects of climate change. She also takes a look at what councils are already doing, and what they need to consider for their next long-term plans.

Our 2018 work about local government

May 2019: This report presents the main findings from our audits of councils' long-term plans (LTPs), the results of our annual audits, and other work in local government during 2017/18.

Inquiry into procurement of work by Westland District Council at Franz Josef

March 2019: This report concerns a decision of the Westland District Council to carry out work at Franz Josef to protect the town's wastewater treatment plant from flooding. The work was carried out on an urgent basis and resulted in the construction of a new 700-metres-long stopbank on the bank of the Waiho River. In this report, we acknowledge the serious nature of the flood risk the Council was dealing with, and the motivation of the elected members who were driving the decision to act in the community's best interests. However, we have serious concerns about what was done in this case.