At our first meeting with the Minister, Hon Nanaia Mahuta accepted our briefing for her as the incoming Minister.
She asked if we had specific recommendations for change to the legislation that sits within her portfolio. We were pleased to advise that we had a ‘sequel’ to our briefing in preparation.
This briefing, Tuning up the Engine, was delivered to the Minister on 4 December. Tuning up the Engine makes 44 recommendations for changes to six pieces of legislation within the local government portfolio. The recommendations have a focus on empowering the sector and the communities is serves to get on with the ‘business’ of promoting community wellbeing, remove or correct confused drafting, and reduce unnecessary compliance.
We are happy to say that the Community Wellbeing Bill and the Electoral Matters Bill give effect to six of the recommendations between them. The passage of the Rates Rebates (Residents of Retirement Villages) Bill gave effect to another. We continue to discuss the others with officials.
You can find the full briefing here.