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Comments
on the Consultation Document
The
Association welcomes the review and feels strongly that the proposals
represent a major step forward for relationships between communities
and local government. Our comments are specific to the proposals
that address this important relationship, the other sections of
the document, while important in their own right, are not of immediate
consequence to Citizens Advice Bureaux. So our comments are on
those proposals which are intended to create a Local Government
Act that:
- promotes
a partnership approach between local government, central government
and communities to improve each local community’s well-being,
and
- gives
councils an appropriate degree of autonomy over local matters,
with corresponding accountability to their communities and rights
to democratic participation by citizens.
As
a general comment, the Association strongly endorses the purpose
of the new Local Government Act, which is “to enable local decision-making
by and on behalf of citizens in their local communities to promote
their social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being in
the present and for the future.”
Relationships
between local government and communities
Citizens
Advice Bureaux (CAB) are among many organisations that help build
strong local communities. Since 1984 CABs has answered over 7,500,000
enquiries – that’s every New Zealander twice. Further, CABs have
over 11,000 client contacts per week, or one client contact every
twelve seconds of the working week. These contacts mean that CABs
can provide a window into the main issues and concerns in communities.
These
enquiries cover a full range of issues including: consumer rights;
education and training; work and unemployment; income support and
benefits; budgeting, finance and tax; health and counselling; legal
advice, disputes and human rights; housing and tenancy; personal,
family and community issues; immigration; civic and local services;
and hobbies, sports and social activities.
Citizens
Advice Bureaux are fully involved and engaged in, and have strong
relationships with, their local communities. And they can offer
a direct pathway into the community for local councils when a good
relationship exists between the council, CAB and the community.
Present
relationships with CAB and councils
At
present the relationships between local CABs and councils vary across
the country. In many cases the relationships are very strong, and
are characterised by good council support to the local bureau in
providing financial and in-kind support, and the bureau providing
information and options to the community about local services and
helping the council identify and community needs. The relationships
are most often embodied in a funding and service contract, and are
also based on mutual respect, which enables the bureau to engage
with the council on key local social issues.
In
some cases, though, bureaux are finding it difficult to establish
and maintain effective relationships with their council. In many
of these cases the council is not adequately engaged with the community
generally and, as a result, does not effectively meet the community’s
needs.
Most
bureaux are enthusiastic that the new Local Government Act will
enable improved relationships with councils. Bureaux whose relationships
with local councils are not very productive are optimistic that
the new Act will assist councils to develop meaningful and effective
partnership relations. Those bureaux with existing healthy partnerships
are anticipating building on these relationships further. The Association
feels that the new Act provides a framework that enables councils
to become more responsive to community needs, but also cautions
that, while legislation might provide a framework, the people involved
must be committed to building and strengthening any relationship.
Addressing
specific questions
Will
the development of the long-term council plan provide an effective
mechanism for community participation and the development of partnership
relationships?
The
Association is optimistic that the proposed long-term plans will
increase community participation because it allows the community
to engage the council in the depth and breath of its social, environmental,
cultural and economic activities. Communities will, to a greater
extent, have a sense of ownership in a wider range of council activities
and are more likely to desire greater participation in decision-making
in things that are not purely ‘economic’.
Further,
communities and community organisations tend to welcome any opportunity
to have their voice heard. This is especially so in regard to the
identification of desired community outcomes – a significant area
of CAB expertise.
The
Association would hope to see long-term planning associated with
longer-term funding for local bureaux. Many bureaux have expressed
concern that their ‘relationships’ with councils are made tenuous
through short-term, inadequate and/or inconsistent funding. This
makes it difficult for bureaux to support their communities and
to plan and provide services to meet a wide range of needs. The
issue of short-term funding was also raised as a major issue nationally
for a range of organisations during consultations around strengthening
the relationship between Government and the community and voluntary
sector. The Local Government Act should take those concerns into
account and ensure that long-term funding goes together with long-term
planning.
Will
the proposed consultation and reporting processes contribute to
effective participation? How?
The
Association feels that the proposals outlined in the review are
useful in providing some minimums to ensure effective participation.
We agree that people need reliable user-friendly information and
good processes to get involved in decision-making; but more could
be done.
The
consultative procedure outlined could be a ‘baseline’ that councils
work to. The Association strongly suggests that councils could,
however, put much greater effort into robust consultation with their
communities to ensure good participation. For example, the 1-month
minimum consultation period is much too short to enable effective
participation. The Association suggests that more work be put into
this section, and that the Department of Internal Affairs’ Local
Government Policy group work with the Community Development Group
and community organisations such as our Association to formulate
a more community-friendly consultation procedure.
The
Association considers that councils should be mandated in the new
Act to put effort into developing and maintain ongoing relationships
with community organisations. That is, they should be proactive
in building and strengthening relationships with the community outside
of seeking input into decision-making.
Do
you consider that the information councils will be required to provide
will enable communities to participate in an informed manner in
the decision-making process concerning changes in the level of services
to be provided?
To
a large extent, yes, the Association does think the proposals will
allow communities to become more informed about, and involved in,
council decision-making – provided that councils are proactive in
building relationships with their communities (see our point above).
Responsibilities
of local and central government and relationships with the community
The
Association would like to make a final comment about wider responsibilities
and relationships between central government, local government and
communities. Central and local government share responsibilities
to members of the community in many areas, including information
and social services. It would be most helpful for our Association
and bureaux working in these shared areas if the responsibilities
and relationships of local and central government are clearly defined,
including in relation to funding of organisations such as Citizens
Advice Bureaux.
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![To see what social issues we are currently working on [through advocacy and media]](../../images/socialp.GIF){kind=small}
