Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment - Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata

Commissioner's preface

Debates about the form, functions and sizing of units of local government have continued despite the reforms of 1989. Issues of community of interest, geographical cohesion, rating base and efficiency of policy and delivery function still fuel the debates. Also since 1989, the Resource Management Act 1991 and other environmental management legislation have been enacted - and thus the environmental management functions of local government have continued to expand.

Executive summary

This joint study, undertaken with the Auditor-General, investigated environmental management in the unitary authority model of local government. As the investigation and analysis proceeded it became clear that the key features that contribute to desired region-wide environmental outcomes are more significant than the institutional form or model of local government.

The study focussed on the functionality of the unitary authority model rather than on the performance of individual councils. It examined how unitary authorities undertook their environmental management responsibilities compared with those of a selection of regional councils and associated territorial authorities.

Key features of an effective environmental management system:

• Integrated management

  The integrated management responsibilities of local government under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) are not model-dependent. Integrated management requires a commitment by elected representatives and management in whatever model of local government exists to take a leadership role in environmental management, and to integrate structures and processes, strategic focus, management of external relationships, policies and methods, etc.

• Environmental outcomes

  Any future proposals to review the form of local government, including the system of environmental management, should first focus on the environmental outcomes sought, then consider the most appropriate structure, systems, resources and linkages to deliver those outcomes (ie form should follow function).

• Separation of regulatory and service delivery functions

  The Local Government Act 1974 (LGA) requires that 'so far as is practicable' councils must ensure that their regulatory functions are separated from their other functions (eg service delivery) to avoid any conflicts of interest where the council may be both the regulator and the regulated. As all councils have a mix of these functions, it is important they clearly define their statutory responsibilities, give appropriate effect to statutory responsibilities, establish structures, systems and processes that ensure transparent decision-making, establish conflict resolution processes and make appropriate use of independent commissioners to make decisions on council consent applications.

• Interaction with the public

  Local government must be responsive to the needs of the communities it represents and is funded by. Issues that local government needs to consider in its interaction with the public on environmental management matters include: improving public awareness of the council's role and responsibilities, facilitating easy access to services and information that assist environmental management processes and encouraging public and resource users' confidence in the delivery of services and environmental outcomes, and trust in the decision-making and compliance monitoring processes.

General issues

A number of general issues that relate to the delivery of integrated environmental management have been identified in the course of this study. They include:

• the need to establish and maintain formal joint arrangements between councils where there are issues associated with cross-boundary jurisdiction or management of a shared resource (such as a catchment area)
• the potential loss of specialist skills (such as rivers control engineering) that are not being replaced in councils nor are readily available in the private sector, and that could affect a council's environmental management capability
• the need for national guidance on a consistent approach to local government environmental outcome setting and evaluation
• the uneven distribution of financial resources among councils, and the effect this has on their ability to deliver environmental outcomes.

Progress

Examples of initiatives being undertaken to achieve more effective and efficient co-operation among councils include:

• forums on regional growth and land transport in the Auckland region
• recent proposals in Southland to develop a Local Government Forum to encourage, monitor and review opportunities for integrating local government services in the region.