Get Vocal in Your Local
Get loud about how decisions get made in your community.
https://getvocalinyourlocal.govt.nz/survey/
This tool is targeted at 18-24 year olds and high school aged rangatahi, but it will also appeal to anyone who feels connected to a place in Aotearoa and wants to have a say in the decisions that affect it.
The tool asks some of the big questions we’re exploring, such as the ways decisions that affect local communities should be made, and whether the voting age should be lowered."
About
Get Vocal in Your Local has been developed by the Review into the Future for Local Government.
The Minister of Local Government, the Hon Nanaia Mahuta, has established the review to look at how Aotearoa’s system of local democracy needs to evolve over the next 30 years. This is to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the environment, and actively embody the Treaty partnership.
We’ve made this tool to make it easy to share what you think about some of the big questions we’re asking.
Got it. But what is local government?
Local government is different from central government (that’s the one headed by the Prime Minister). Central government makes decisions for the nation as a whole. Local government makes decisions about Aotearoa’s local places.
Local government in New Zealand is made up of 78 different councils. They include 67 city councils, district councils and unitary authorities. These are the focus of this tool. There are also 11 regional councils.
Each council is made up of elected representatives (your mayor and local councillors) who are voted in every 3 years by people in their communities. Their work is supported by a chief executive and council staff who run the day-to-day business of each council.
And why does it need to be reviewed?
It’s time to take a fresh look at the way local government works in New Zealand. Since the last major reforms in the 1980s, local government has changed – and so has Aotearoa.
Our population has become more diverse. Intergenerational issues like climate change, housing and inequality have become more pressing. And with the settlement of many historic Treaty claims, the relationship between local government and iwi, hapū and Māori is entering a new phase.
Get Vocal in Your Local explores your views about some of the big questions we are asking. Everyone who completes it gets us one step closer to a more inclusive and resilient system of local governance for the future.
What happens to my submission?
Data collected by Get Vocal in Your Local will help shape the Review’s recommendations to the Minister of Local Government. We will publish a draft report in October 2022. In April 2023, after consulting with the public, we’ll release our final report.
If you would like to make a further submission to the Review, you can do so by emailing futureforlg@dia.govt.nz