Time to speak up - Business News
It’s not solely governing structures that interest us. Let’s focus on services, their provision and costs. For people and places. ‘Core services’ are described as ‘network infrastructure (roading, transport, water), public transport, waste management, Civil Defence emergency management, and libraries, museums, reserves and recreational facilities’. That’s confirmed in the new Local Government (System Improvements) amendment. Read More
It’s not solely governing structures that interest us. Let’s focus on services, their provision and costs. For people and places. ‘Core services’ are described as ‘network infrastructure (roading, transport, water), public transport, waste management, Civil Defence emergency management, and libraries, museums, reserves and recreational facilities’. That’s confirmed in the new Local Government (System Improvements) amendment. Margaret EvansThe new water entities come within that definition, and their council shareholders may replace board directors (and staff) if they fail to deliver ‘cost-effective, good quality local infrastructure and public services’ (as required). As the August 9 deadline looms for submitting local council amalgamation proposals, two key issues are emerging in community chat on central government’s Head Start reforms. One is service delivery, and the second relates to community participation. Some councils have accepted staff advice that the timetable is too tight to consult the public, but others are seeking out opinion. As they should. Local Government reform has been signalled for years. Water goes through screening before the sedimentation process at the Waiora Water Treatment Plant. Photo: Mary Anne GillAnd there is mounting pressure for an overall public sector tidy up, with disclosures ranging from Immigration’s IT disaster to Wellington City Council’s ongoing ‘catastrophic infrastructure failures, severe budget blowouts, contract mismanagement, and deep internal political divisions…’ That includes the Moa Point raw sewage spill, Golden Mile revamp, and mega-million-dollar project cost blowouts (including the sludge plant and Town Hall restoration). Tim MacindoeLocally, Hamilton mayor Tim Macindoe last month appointed a new Think Tank to “advise him with independent financial perspectives on key issues”. He had added a Procurement Subcommittee to the council’s structure after his election last year to dig into council operations in response to concerns raised by councillors and locals. In 2023, a strong call for mayors and their councils to ‘think differently’ arose from two public gatherings (in person and via Zoom) hosted at Waikato University, and a summary was sent to core politicians (in Wellington and locally). One clear point: “Poorly maintained and inadequate infrastructure, resistance to innovation/deficient planning and engineering, increasing costs/poor financial monitoring, and comms-spin rather than clear information…”We should know by now that a new order comes only when new ‘governors’ bring in innovative thinking, with determination to oust processes (and people) that fail to guarantee ‘efficiencies, effectiveness, transparency and accountability’. Great official words and still the challenge. WEL Trust elections are now over and hopefully with a better voter turnout (previously 10%). Village chat was mostly about the cluster of former local body politicians with their hands up. Whoever has the winning votes, we should again urge them to push hard for electricity consumers, to replace the past focus (and divisions) over community grants versus discounts. Get WEL Networks innovating and influencing the entire energy sector. It’s the same call for change. Overall, reform concepts insist representative democracy requires improved connections between MPs, mayors and councillors, and residents. Let’s tell them.