Hide backs off restricting councils

Rodney Hide. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has backed off from law changes to stop councils getting involved in social policies, such as pensioner housing, and force them to focus on core activities.

However, the Act leader is pressing ahead with plans to make councils open their financial books before the local body elections.

The move would mirror the Treasury's pre-election fiscal update for central Government.

Mr Hide yesterday said he was conscious of working with a centrist, pragmatic National Party and needed its support to pass changes to the Local Government Act 2002.

That meant he was no longer pursuing the removal of the social, environmental and cultural "wellbeings" in the act that, he previously said, had pushed councils into providing services beyond their core role.

Mr Hide said proposed law changes going to the Cabinet tomorrow would bring greater financial accountability and transparency to councils, helping them to focus on core activities.

But the proposed legislation would not stop councils continuing to be involved in social policies, such as pensioner housing.

"If a community want something and are prepared to pay for it, that's fine," he said.

When Mr Hide began a review of core services in June, Prime Minister John Key said social policies were an important role for councils and Act's policies did not necessarily reflect the Government's view.

Labour's local government spokesman, George Hawkins, was not surprised by Mr Hide's change of heart.

"Common sense says councils play a major role in the community ... This was a case of Rodney diving into a pool without any water in it," said Mr Hawkins, a former Mayor of Papakura.

Mr Hide said the long-term council community plan was a huge, detailed, mid-term reporting process.

He is proposing that council chief executives produce a simpler overview of the council's fiscal position before local body elections to inform everyone about issues confronting the community.

Legislation could be introduced before Christmas and passed for next year's local body elections, he said.

The exercise has been driven by Mr Hide's desire to stop big ratesrises.

After analysing the 2009-2019 long-term council community plans, he discovered overall operating costs would increase by 39 per cent over the next decade. During the same period, capital expenditure would total $31.4 billion and debt would rise to $10.8 billion.