United Future Policy Statement

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Local Government

Infrastructural Development and Urban Renewal

United Future New Zealand is totally committed to strong communities, seeing them as integral in creating a strong nation. Local government has a vital role to play in aiding the development of strong communities. Our policy is based on balancing local government autonomy with strong accountability provisions.

United Future will:

  • Establish a balanced partnership with local authorities to encourage the social, environmental, cultural and economic growth of communities
  • Minimise costs and encourage efficiencies in local government where possible
  • Minimise the social and environmental impacts upon communities from new developments
  • Preserve community influence on local planning and environmental issues
  • Allow local authorities to legitimately acquire earnings from business development through fees, commissions, royalties and corporate assets
  • Minimise rating exemptions to corporates for capital improvements
  • Require local authorities to undertake needs assessment studies every five years
  • Develop guidelines and strategies through the Local Government Commission to help community boards focus upon beneficial community development
  • Implement local programmes that promote community safety
  • Develop a comprehensive crime prevention strategy between city and regional councils, government departments and safer city programmes
  • Provide extra support to a 'broken windows' policy of early intervention to target minor crime and first time offenders
  • Give regional councils extended scope to initiate change and development in their area providing certain criteria are met
  • Encourage neighbourhoods and local communities to have input into the designs of government and local government projects in their area
  • Provide for inclusion of public recreational areas as a feature in the design of infrastructural projects
  • Permit the extension of boundaries of territorial local authorities where these will improve overall efficiency
  • Ensure that community boards have representation at regional planning forums
  • Improve and strengthen local body democratic processes by: enabling candidates to qualify for council elections on the basis of NZ residency, providing for either a residency vote or a property vote per local authority, and requiring the Electoral Commission to establish campaign limits for candidates prior to nominations closing.


United Future Parliamentary Office: Bowen House, Lambton Quay, Wellington
Email: Phone: (04) 471 9410