Campbell Barry: Local Government NZ Vice President on the NZIER report on the cost of Government reforms for councils

The changing whims of different governments are putting financial pressure on councils.  

A report from NZIER has found central government underestimates what its reforms cost councils to implement.  

Local Government New Zealand is calling for more assistance from Government to help them carry the cost.  

Vice President and Lower Hutt Mayor Campbell Barry says the speed limit increases under the previous Government cost $570 thousand for his council to implement.  

He says the Government's new directive to reverse speed limit increases will cost another $570 thousand. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Back here, double digit rate rises. You would have seen
this if you live in say Hamilton, you've got nineteen
point nine percent increases. Wellington you're getting about sixteen percent
to need in seventeen and a half percent. It hurts right,
and there are big issues like infrastructure and climate resilience
that need to be paid for. But a new report
out this morning from Local Government New Zealand and NZII

(00:22):
says that government policy changes are costing council's millions. They
say that one size fit all policies from central government
don't consider the impact and the cost for local government.
It's death by a thousand cuts. Joining me this morning,
Campbell Barry, Vice President of Local Government, New Zealand and
Lower Hut Mayor Campbell, thanks for being with me. Can
you give us an example of one of these issues

(00:46):
that central throws onto you and you guys have to
pay for.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Yeah, good morning. The first example I can give you
is the speed restriction changes that were brought in by
the previous government for us at Lower Hut that cost
US five hundred and seventy thousand other three years to implement.
We're now being told by the new government to reverse
that or to go through a process to confirm our position,
which will cost another five hundred and seventy thousand dollars

(01:12):
over three years to implement. In my mind, that's just
the definition of insanity and a waste of money.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
That's madness. Can you not just why does it cost
so much to change the speeds? Can you not just
rip the old signs down?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
Basically, the national policy statement in that space, or the
policy that the government put forward, requires us to go
through a certain process and implementation.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
There's a range of different things that part of it.
I mean, that's incredibly frustrating. I feel immediately annoyed just
hearing you say it, and what a waste. So do
you what are you asking for that? When government makes
changes like this, they actually cost it and then reimburse you.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Yeah, they should fund it. We need to put an
end to unfunded mandates. They are having a serious impact
on the bottom line, either they contribute towards the rate
increases that we're seeing or simply councils suck it up.
They absorbed that cost, and it means that there's an
impact on services and other places which communities are expecting
us to do things. So another example I could give

(02:17):
you is the National Policy Statement on Urban Development seven
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for us to implement, and
also delayed our full district FLAN review by eighteen months,
which had a number of other file on effects. We
could go on all day, and councils have been feeling
this for decades.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Do you have a total figure? Have you worked out
how much these death by a thousand cuts changes are
costing local government in total?

Speaker 2 (02:42):
What the report found? It was really difficult to put
a number on that, but it undoubtedly is in the
tens of millions. We know it's a lot. The reason
for not being able to put a number on it
is because so often councils just suck it up, They
absorbed that cost and it has an impact on other
areas of council services. So we don't necessarily we aren't

(03:04):
exactly able to point to it, but there are a
number of anecdotal examples which councils could give you of
this happening over such a long period of time.

Speaker 1 (03:12):
All right, thanks so much for your time this morning,
Campbell Barry. For more from News Talks EDB listen live
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