2050 Local Government Forum

On June 18th, Lily went to the 2050 Local Government Forum yesterday with infrastructure and collaboration between central and local governments being the focus. The Post’s June nationwide poll was also released at the event. Some key figures are:

1. Relieving the cost of living crisis is the #1 issue - 56%

2. Almost half of the country thinks we are going in the wrong direction - 49%

3. 2 in 5 voters don’t feel they are getting value for money from their councils.

4. 63% of voters are concerned about the long-term sustainability of councils

The above simply echoes what most of us already know. Some key issues are:

1. The imbalance of revenue between central and local governments- approx 90% vs 10%

2. Local governments own approximately 36% of the infrastructure and are expected to maintain it. This means that local governments are paying for growth while the central government reaps the reward

3. 78 councils around the country are doing things 78 different ways.

4. Councils are overly reliant on rates to fund infrastructure, and

5. Unit cost for delivery too high - no standardisation for things like pipes

Reasons for optimism:

1. Benchmarking of service delivery for councils around the country, including costs, is underway. This will improve transparency and accountability

2. Work is underway to put rules and guidelines around how council officers operate to improve the information, collaboration and control that councillors get from management

3. GST return to local governments on new builds are being looked at - potentially 50% of the GST being returned to councils in the next budget

4. Regulatory and resource management reform underway to reduce the unit cost of delivery

We need to turn the dial at the October election and give the power back to you and the people who will be focused on you and putting more money back in your pocket. Please support me and other Independent Together candidates.