Category: Cities and Regions

OPINION: A Failure of Education and a Failure of Governance

Dec 4, 2025 | Cities and Regions, Consultation, Core Services, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Elections, Fixing Councils Series, Global Warming, Government Organisations, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases

OPINION: Regional Council Reforms Should Focus on Reducing Bureaucracy not Reducing Democracy

Dec 4, 2025 | Amalgamation, Cities and Regions, Consultation, Contractors, Core Services, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Elections, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases

OPINION: The End of Regional Councils?

Dec 4, 2025 | Amalgamation, Building Consent, Cities and Regions, Consultation, Core Services, Council Spending, Government Organisations, Hamilton City, Housing supply, Incoming Legislation, Infrastructure, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, Mode Shift, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Professional Managerial Class, Property Rights, Regulations, Resource Management Act (RMA), Safety and Well-being

October 2025 Coverage of S&P’s “New Zealand Water Reforms Don’t Guarantee Rating Relief For Local Councils” Report

Oct 31, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Dunedin City, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Infrastructure, Invercargill City, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

2025 Local Government Elections

Jun 30, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Buller District, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Dunedin City, Elections, Far North District, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Invercargill City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Rangitīkei District, Taking Action, Upper Hutt City, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Wellington City, Whanganui District

No tolls on the new Manawatū Tararua Highway, public feedback was 90% against the proposed tolling

Apr 22, 2025 | Cities and Regions, Consultation, Council Spending, Emergency Services, Health and Safety, News, Palmerston North City, Protest, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Safety and Well-being, Toll Roads, Transport and Roading

Democracy Project Article: When unelected officials dominate the local democratic process

Jul 25, 2024 | Article, Asset Sales, Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Code of Conduct complaints, Council Finances, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Freedom of Expression, Global Agendas, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Overview, Professional Managerial Class, Tauranga City, Tauranga City Council Election 2024, Wellington City

Cities and Regions

NZTA consultation on three proposed toll roads (closes 7 Oct 2024)

Sep 30, 2024 | Article, Cities and Regions, Consultation, News, Palmerston North City, Protest, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Transport and Roading

All three consultations on these proposed toll roads close at 5:00pm on Monday 7 October 2024. If...

Cities and Regions

Consultation Closes 27 February 2026: “Inquiry into the 2025 Local Elections”

Feb 23, 2026 | Auckland 2025, Auckland City, Buller District, Christchurch 2025, Christchurch City, Cities, Cities and Regions, Consultation, Contractors, Direct Democracy, Dunedin 2025, Dunedin City, Elections, Far North District, Freedom of Expression, Government Organisations, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Invercargill City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Law and Legislation, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Parliament, Porirua City, Rangitīkei District, Regions, Regulations, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Upper Hutt City, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Wellington 2025, Wellington City, Whanganui District

CONSULTATIONS CLOSE 11.59pm on Friday 27 February 2026 for the “Inquiry into the 2025 Local...

Additional Posts

Consultation Closes 27 August 2025: “Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill”

Aug 10, 2025 | Arts and Cultural, Auckland City, Buller District, Christchurch City, Cities, Cities and Regions, Code of Conduct complaints, Consultation, Core Services, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Dunedin City, Far North District, Freedom of Expression, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Invercargill City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Parks and Reserves, Porirua City, Rangitīkei District, Regions, Regulations, Safety and Well-being, Sports and Events, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Upper Hutt City, Voting Record, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Whanganui District

The Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament. Public...

Q & A: The Single Transferable Vote (STV) System in Local Elections 2025

Jun 30, 2025 | Article, Cities and Regions, Dunedin City, Elections, Far North District, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Kaipara District, Kapiti Coast District, Nelson City, New Plymouth District, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City

What is STV? Single Transferable Vote (STV) is a voting system implemented in a number of councils...

Michael Connett’s NZ Speaking Tour on Water Fluoridation

Jan 21, 2025 | Auckland City, Cities and Regions, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Hutt City, Law and Legislation, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Fluoridation, Wellington City

Fluoride Free NZ has organised for US Lawyer Michael Connett to tour New Zealand in February 2025....

Kāpiti Coastal Advisory Panel and managed retreat: June 2024 updates

Jun 30, 2024 | Article, Cities and Regions, Climate Change and Weather, Consultation, Council Meetings, Flood Risk, Global Agendas, Global Warming, Greater Wellington Region, International Organisation, Kapiti Coast District, Managed Retreat, Natural Hazards, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Protest, Resource Management Act (RMA), Taking Action, United Nations

June 2024 has been a busy month for the issues of climate change adaptation and managed retreat....

What is RCP8.5?

Jun 30, 2024 | Article, Auckland City, Cities and Regions, Climate Change and Weather, Flood Risk, Global Agendas, Global Warming, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, International Organisation, Kapiti Coast District, Law and Legislation, Managed Retreat, Natural Hazards, Overview, Resource Management Act (RMA), United Nations, Wellington City

Summary RCP8.5 (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) is a climate change model scenario used...

What Has Been Happening with Number Plate Recognition Cameras in Manchester, UK?

Jun 1, 2024 | Article, Cities and Regions, Climate Change and Weather, Council Debt, Council Spending, Crime, Global Agendas, International, Mode Shift, News, Overview, Petitions, Protest, Public Transport, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Surveillance, Taking Action, Transport and Roading

Summary and Key Points In 2008 the Greater Manchester local authorities proposed a congestion...

OPINION: Why You Should Fear Facial Recognition

May 27, 2024 | Cities and Regions, Crime, Emergency Services, Internet of Things, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Surveillance

By Guest (a concerned New Zealand resident) Introduction Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) is an...

OPINION: Comparing the coalition’s draft transport General Policy Statement (GPS) with Labour’s version

Mar 23, 2024 | Cities and Regions, Climate Change and Weather, Consultation, Elections, Global Agendas, Incoming Legislation, International Organisation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Overview, Public Transport, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Taking Action, Traffic Calming, Transport and Roading, UN 2030 Agenda, United Nations, Vision Zero

By John McDonald, 2024 Hamilton East Ward By-election Candidate and CityWatch NZ editor The...

Public Consultation for WEL Energy Trust Annual Plan and Consumer Discount closes 20 March 2024

Mar 17, 2024 | Cities and Regions, Consultation, Core Services, ENERGY, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Hamilton City, Letter Templates, News, Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Taking Action, UN 2030 Agenda, United Nations

Graphic from page 13 of the WEL Energy Trust Draft Annual Plan 2024-2025 [Editor’s note: CityWatch...

Stuff Article: Why are councils considering rates hikes of 25.5% and higher?

Dec 11, 2023 | Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Hamilton City, New Zealand Issues, News, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Wellington City

Authored by: Erin Johnson Published on: 11 December 2023 Published by: Stuff Limited Headline: Why...

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