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		Local Government Bill New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux submission on the Local Government Bill February 2002

Background The New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaus welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Local Government Bill.  We were involved in the consultation on the August 2001 review of the Local Government Act, and are pleased to see the introduction of this Bill as a result of that review. The aims of the Association are: To ensure that individuals do not suffer through ignorance of their rights and responsibilities or of the services available: or through an inability to express their needs effectively –– Me noho matära kia kaua te tangata e mate i töna kore möhio ki ngä ähuatanga e ähei atu ana ia, ki ngä mahi ränei e tika ana kia mahia e ia, ki ngä ratonga ränei e ähei atu ana ia; i te kore ränei öna e ähei ki te whakaputu i öna hiahia kia märama mai ai te tangata. To exert a responsible influence on the development of social policies and services, both locally and nationally -- Kia tino whawähi atu ki te auahatanga o ngä kaupapa-ä-iwi me ngä ratonga-ä-rohe, puta noa hoki i te motu. The New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux – Ngä Pokapü Whakahoki Pätai mai i te Iwi Whänui provide free, confidential and impartial information, advice, advocacy and support to individuals, and use our experience with clients to advocate for socially just policies and services in Aotearoa New Zealand. The national network of 88 Citizens Advice Bureaux aim to empower individuals to deal with their own problems and to strengthen communities by identifying and raising local and national issues.  The person to person information, advice, advocacy and support service provided by 2,750 bureaux volunteers is unique in New Zealand, as is our ability to provide a national snapshot of community issues and concerns. As we discussed during the review, our comments are informed by the relationships that our 88 member bureaus have with their local councils – some of these relationships are very good; some are not.  Many bureaus receive funding and other support and assistance from their local councils.  When taken together, local council support to Citizens Advice Bureaus accounts for approximately 14% of total resourcing, however, in some areas bureaus receive no support.  Further, between 1999 and 2001 Citizens Advice Bureaus dealt with over 60,000 enquiries about the wide range of services and activities relating specifically to councils, including: town planning, neighbourhood disputes, resource management, by-laws, visitor information, civic services, elections and animal registration.       Comments on the Bill The Association welcomes the Bill.  We feel strongly that it represents a major step forward for relationships between communities and local government.  We also endorse the submissions of the New Zealand Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations and Local Government New Zealand. The Association supports the Government’s key objectives for the Bill and the stated purpose for local authorities, which is “to enable local decision-making, by, and on behalf of, individuals in their communities, to democratically promote and action their social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being in the present and for the future.”  This stated purpose places greater emphasis on councils’ role in supporting social well-being, and further moves local government away from a limited ‘rates, roads and rubbish’ mentality. While we welcome the Bill, we do have a concern about how councils will become more responsive to communities to ensure they achieve this purpose (meeting communities’ social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being).  While this Bill empowers councils to address that, it would be unrealistic to expect this legislation to be a panacea for some of the more difficult community-council relationships. Our concern is less with what this Bill can achieve, and more with changing the actions, behaviours, priorities and other factors that currently can lead to poor relationships.  In many instances it is not because councils are restricted by current legislation to meet community needs, but rather a lack of interest or sense of responsibility to do so. To this end, we echo the Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisation’s call for “establishing good practice guidelines, standards setting and training at a national level to promote the kinds of policies and practices needed for the realisation of the purpose and principles of this Bill.” We recognise that this Bill is seeking to move away from prescribing rigid and narrow rules for councils to operate in.  We do not see that such guidelines and standards would be a part of this Bill, but would be tools developed and used over time to assist in its implementation.  We ask that the Committee consider how best to develop these.  A useful approach would be to consult local council representatives, Local Government New Zealand, the Mayoral/Government Forum, community and non-government organisations, such as Citizens Advice Bureaus, and communities, and to also draw from the knowledge and experiences developed during the community-government relationship discussions.           Information | Contact Us | Volunteering | Social Policy | About Us