We recently had the pleasure to catch up with Sam Broughton, Selwyn Mayor and President of Local Government NZ. As a supporter of LGNZ’s recent SuperLocal24 Conference in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, we were keen to compare notes on “all thing’s local government”. Sam is a progressive leader in local government, and passionate about his community, so we touched on several topics of interest.
One area we are increasingly involved with is supporting organisations and communities with “place-making”, bringing our strategic and commercial lens, whether this is investing in new town centres, new civic facilities or more broadly in asset and infrastructure renewal. It was a timely catch up, as many of the themes from the SuperLocal24 Conference, which continued to build on the concept of localism (moving decisions and delivery closer to communities) were built around the importance of “place” in shaping thriving communities.
The key take outs from the conference that are relevant to our work “helping build a better place” included:
The funding for local government remains broken
Relying on the Rating Act to levy property owners is clearly not working, especially for regions with more people than rating units. No one has an answer, certainly not central government regardless of political hue. Giving back local government GST on rates (which let’s face it is a tax on a tax) is one option, but central government is not going to give this up easily when tax revenue is down. Bulk funding of infrastructure? Regional deals (more to come)? Fast track projects with funding support (more to also come)? Increased private sector investment? All of these solutions need to be further explored as tax-based revenue in whatever form is not a bottomless pit. Something needs to give.
Back to basics is only a short-term solution
The government got plenty of flack for suggesting local government needed to simply get back to fixing roads, pipes and rubbish. Yes, most people agree these basic services need to be well executed more cost-effectively. Potential solutions include simplifying procurement, increased standardisation and regional cooperation. But this alone is not aspirational. Communities need progressive leadership, renewed investment and a bold vision for economic prosperity. In every town and city there will always be a vocal group focused on not spending money and maintaining the status quo. If it was simply left to this group, we would see no economic development or progress.
Partnering is part of the future
One of the stand-out presentations at the conference was from Justin Tipa, the Chair of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Justin reiterated iwi’s intergenerational long-term view of communities, partnerships and investment and the role their commercial entities can play in supporting local government. We are increasingly seeing partnering arrangements put in place with iwi and the private sector to initiate investment, not only in local government. As ever the best partnering arrangements are founded on strong and enduring relationship principles, with built-in commercial principles and off-ramps to provide flexibility. The much talked about “regional deals” is one type of partnering arrangement, in this case between central and local government.
Place-making supports economic development
As outlined by keynote speaker, Richard de Cani from Arup, well planned, funded and executed property and place-based initiatives are critical in stimulating economic development in towns and cities across the world, and New Zealand is no exception. Place-based initiatives provide communities (businesses, investors, households) with tangible evidence “that something positive is happening”, whether that is the transformation of a town centre, a new playground or sporting complex, or simply the infrastructure needed to support more affordable housing.
From our chat with Sam we concluded (at least from our end) that despite the pressure on rates in many communities, and a sluggish economy, place-making remains a critical lever for local government. Particularly with the infrastructure deficit (not only below ground but above ground) we are facing (from past poor planning, funding and execution) and the population growth in many parts of New Zealand, where new community facilities are needed.
Successful place-making requires bold vision and leadership, well-reasoned strategic business cases (linking back to the communities aspirations), alternative funding solutions, enduring partnering arrangements and financially astute commercial frameworks.
