Local government

Links to our reports, articles, blog posts, and published letters about city, district, regional, and unitary councils and council-controlled organisations.
Cover image - Nov 05, 2024 How well four councils are responding to a changing climate

5 November 2024: We looked at the actions of Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council, and Whanganui District Council in responding to the local impacts of climate change. All four councils are making progress with their responses to climate change and doing so in an uncertain and evolving national policy environment.

Cover image - Aug 20, 2024 Insights into local government: 2023

20 August 2024: Each year, we produce reports that summarise what we’ve observed in different parts of the public sector and set out the results of our audits in that sector for the latest audited year.

Cover image - Jul 30, 2024 Testing the water: How councils report on drinking water quality

30 July 2024: Councils that supply drinking water achieved just under 60% of their targets for water supply measures in 2022/23. We encourage councils to investigate the reasons for non-compliance with drinking water standards and prioritise remedial actions, particularly where this could affect water quality and safety.

Cover image - May 27, 2024 Reading Cinema proposal

27 May 2024: We have replied to Councillor Ray Chung about his request that we investigate the proposed deal between Wellington City Council and Reading Cinemas.

Cover image - May 21, 2024 Regional councils’ relationships with iwi and hapu for freshwater management – a follow-up report

21 May 2024: In 2019, we looked at how effectively Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland were managing freshwater quality. We followed up with all four regional councils and spoke with iwi and hapū representatives to see what progress the regional councils had made in response to recommendations we made in 2019 about managing freshwater quality.

Cover image - Jan 25, 2024 Local government planning and reporting on performance

25 January 2024: This guidance is designed to help councils provide appropriate and meaningful performance information in their accountability documents, so that communities and ratepayers better understand what councils are doing for them in the short and longer terms.

Cover image - Jun 14, 2023 Responses to our recommendations about managing freshwater quality

14 June 2023: We asked the Ministry for the Environment, Statistics New Zealand, Waikato Regional Council, Taranaki Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, and Environment Southland for an update on their response to recommendations we made in 2019 about managing freshwater quality.

Cover image - Jan 31, 2023 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.

Cover image - Oct 13, 2022 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.

Cover image - Jun 14, 2022 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.

Cover image - May 26, 2022 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.

Cover image - Dec 08, 2021 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.

Cover image - Oct 26, 2021 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.

Cover image - Jun 30, 2020 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.

Cover image - May 19, 2020 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.