Abstract
The manner in which central and local governments engage has taken on extra salience in recent years as governments seek to address wicked issues and begin to appreciate the role of place as a key contributor of economic growth. Different approaches exist, ranging from formal and constitutional to informal and political, but none represents a magic bullet with outcomes always subject to local circumstances. In this context the example of New Zealand highlights a particular challenge; how to maintain effective of inter-governmental relationships in the absence of either constitutional recognition of local government or a formal agreement between the two sectors.
Highlights
In 1839, within six months of arriving in Port Nicholson1 after leaving their home country of England and a year before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi which gave Britain legal oversight, the 1400 or so new settlers agreed to establish a council to provide order in the new town, reflecting “those constitutional principles which every Englishman is taught to regard as his birthright” (Carman 1970 p. 25)
The value applies across policy domains, for example, the value of coordination was recognised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its study of regulation in Ireland when it noted that: Local governments within the boundary of a state need increasing flexibility to meet economic, social and environmental goals in their particular geographical and cultural setting... this requires a pro-active consideration of:
The OECD goes on to recommend that the coordination and consultation mechanisms operating between local and central government in the Irish Republic should be reviewed with the objective of strengthening existing mechanisms
Summary
No constitutional recognition of local government but provides a seat for the president of the Local Government Association (ALGA) on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) which meets to coordinate federal governance.. It is required to sustain and promote local government in Wales as well as to establish a Partnership Council consisting of members of the Assembly and local authorities Formal entities, such as those identified above, appear to be most common in federal jurisdictions where the challenge of coordination is that much greater and engagement is multi-level, involving federal, provincial and local authorities. The English Concordat, signed between the Minister of Local Government in the former Labour government and President of the LGA, was more of a strategic document than the Scottish version, which has a more instrumental and practical focus (for example, ‘councils will reduce bureaucracy’) It spells out the relative roles of local and central government and outlines the respective rights and responsibilities of each sector. There is an inter-governmental agreement establishing principles for managing the relationships between all the states and the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)
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