Appendix 3: Local Government Act 2002 principles and requirements

This Appendix provides some of the Local Government Act sections that are particularly relevant to decision-making and consultation requirements. The full text of the Act is available online at www.legislation.govt.nz or in hard copy from Bennetts Government Bookshop.

Please note that the following text is correct at the time of printing but may have been amended since our guide was published. The interested reader should access the most recent form of the legislation.

14 Principles relating to local authorities

1. In performing its role, a local authority must act in accordance with the following principles:
   1. a local authority should—
      1. conduct its business in an open, transparent, and democratically accountable manner; and
      2. give effect to its identified priorities and desired outcomes in an efficient and effective manner:
   2. a local authority should make itself aware of, and should have regard to, the views of all of its communities; and
   3. when making a decision, a local authority should take account of—
      1. the diversity of the community, and the community’s interests, within its district or region; and
      2. the interests of future as well as current communities; and
      3. the likely impact of any decision on each aspect of well-being referred to in section 10:
   4. a local authority should provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to its decision-making processes:
   5. a local authority should collaborate and co-operate with other local authorities and bodies as it considers appropriate to promote or achieve its priorities and desired outcomes, and make efficient use of resources; and
   6. a local authority should undertake any commercial transactions in accordance with sound business practices; and
   7. a local authority should ensure prudent stewardship and the efficient and effective use of its resources in the interests of its district or region; and
   8. in taking a sustainable development approach, a local authority should take into account—
      1. the social, economic, and cultural well-being of people and communities; and
      2. (ii) the need to maintain and enhance the quality of the environment; and
      3. (iii) the reasonably foreseeable needs of future generations.
2. If any of these principles, or any aspects of well-being referred to in section 10, are in conflict in any particular case, the local authority should resolve the conflict in accordance with the principle in subsection (1)(a)(i).

76 Decision-making

1. Every decision made by a local authority must be made in accordance with such of the provisions of sections 77, 78, 80, 81, and 82 as are applicable.
2. Subsection (1) is subject, in relation to compliance with sections 77 and 78, to the judgments made by the local authority under section 79.
3. A local authority—
   1. must ensure that, subject to subsection (2), its decision-making processes promote compliance with subsection (1); and
   2. in the case of a significant decision, must ensure, before the decision is made, that subsection (1) has been appropriately observed.
4. For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that, subject to subsection (2), subsection (1) applies to every decision made by or on behalf of a local authority, including a decision not to take any action.
5. Where a local authority is authorised or required to make a decision in the exercise of any power, authority, or jurisdiction given to it by this Act or any other enactment or by any bylaws, the provisions of subsections (1) to (4) and the provisions applied by those subsections, unless inconsistent with specific requirements of the Act, enactment, or bylaws under which the decision is to be made, apply in relation to the making of the decision.
6. This section and the sections applied by this section do not limit any duty or obligation imposed on a local authority by any other enactment.

77 Requirements in relation to decisions

1. A local authority must, in the course of the decision-making process,—
   1. seek to identify all reasonably practicable options for the achievement of the objective of a decision; and
   2. assess those options by considering—
      1. the benefits and costs of each option in terms of the present and future social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of the district or region; and
      2. the extent to which community outcomes would be promoted or achieved in an integrated and efficient manner by each option; and
      3. the impact of each option on the local authority’s capacity to meet present and future needs in relation to any statutory responsibility of the local authority; and
      4. any other matters that, in the opinion of the local authority, are relevant; and
   3. if any of the options identified under paragraph (a) involves a significant decision in relation to land or a body of water, take into account the relationship of Māori and their culture and traditions with their ancestral land, water, sites, waahi tapu, valued flora and fauna, and other taonga.
2. This section is subject to section 79.

78 Community views in relation to decisions

1. A local authority must, in the course of its decision-making process in relation to a matter, give consideration to the views and preferences of persons likely to be affected by, or to have an interest in, the matter.
2. That consideration must be given at—
   1. the stage at which the problems and objectives related to the matter are defined:
   2. the stage at which the options that may be reasonably practicable options of achieving an objective are identified:
   3. the stage at which reasonably practicable options are assessed and proposals developed:
   4. the stage at which proposals of the kind described in paragraph (c) are adopted.
3. A local authority is not required by this section alone to undertake any consultation process or procedure.
4. This section is subject to section 79.

79 Compliance with procedures in relation to decisions

1. It is the responsibility of a local authority to make, in its discretion, judgments—
   1. about how to achieve compliance with sections 77 and 78 that is largely in proportion to the significance of the matters affected by the decision; and
   2. about, in particular,—
      1. the extent to which different options are to be identified and assessed; and
      2. the degree to which benefits and costs are to be quantified; and
      3. the extent and detail of the information to be considered; and
      4. the extent and nature of any written record to be kept of the manner in which it has complied with those sections.
2. In making judgments under subsection (1), a local authority must have regard to the significance of all relevant matters and, in addition, to—
   1. the principles set out in section 14; and
   2. the extent of the local authority’s resources; and
   3. the extent to which the nature of a decision, or the circumstances in which a decision is taken, allow the local authority scope and opportunity to consider a range of options or the views and preferences of other persons.
3. The nature and circumstances of a decision referred to in subsection (2)(c) include the extent to which the requirements for such decision-making are prescribed in or under any other enactment (for example, the Resource Management Act 1991).
4. Subsection (3) is for the avoidance of doubt.

80 Identification of inconsistent decisions

1. If a decision of a local authority is significantly inconsistent with, or is anticipated to have consequences that will be significantly inconsistent with, any policy adopted by the local authority or any plan required by this Act or any other enactment, the local authority must, when making the decision, clearly identify—
   1. the inconsistency; and
   2. the reasons for the inconsistency; and
   3. any intention of the local authority to amend the policy or plan to accommodate the decision.
2. Subsection (1) does not derogate from any other provision of this Act or of any other enactment.

81 Contributions to decision-making processes by Māori

1. A local authority must—
   1. establish and maintain processes to provide opportunities for Māori to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority; and
   2. consider ways in which it may foster the development of Māori capacity to contribute to the decision-making processes of the local authority; and
   3. provide relevant information to Māori for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b).
2. A local authority, in exercising its responsibility to make judgments about the manner in which subsection (1) is to be complied with, must have regard to—
   1. the role of the local authority, as set out in section 11; and
   2. such other matters as the local authority considers on reasonable grounds to be relevant to those judgments.

82 Principles of consultation

1. Consultation that a local authority undertakes in relation to any decision or other matter must be undertaken, subject to subsections (3) to (5), in accordance with the following principles:
   1. that persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in,the decision or matter should be provided by the local authority with reasonable access to relevant information in a manner and format that is appropriate to the preferences and needs of those persons:
   2. that persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter should be encouraged by the local authority to present their views to the local authority:
   3. that persons who are invited or encouraged to present their views to the local authority should be given clear information by the local authority concerning the purpose of the consultation and the scope of the decisions to be taken following the consideration of views presented:
   4. that persons who wish to have their views on the decision or matter considered by the local authority should be provided by the local authority with a reasonable opportunity to present those views to the local authority in a manner and format that is appropriate to the preferences and needs of those persons:
   5. that the views presented to the local authority should be received by the local authority with an open mind and should be given by the local authority, in making a decision, due consideration:
   6. that persons who present views to the local authority should be provided by the local authority with information concerning both the relevant decisions and the reasons for those decisions.
2. A local authority must ensure that it has in place processes for consulting with Māori in accordance with subsection (1).
3. The principles set out in subsection (1) are, subject to subsections (4) and (5), to be observed by a local authority in such manner as the local authority considers, in its discretion, to be appropriate in any particular instance.
4. A local authority must, in exercising its discretion under subsection (3), have regard to—
   1. the requirements of section 78; and
   2. the extent to which the current views and preferences of persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter are known to the local authority; and
   3. the nature and significance of the decision or matter, including its likely impact from the perspective of the persons who will or may be affected by, or have an interest in, the decision or matter; and
   4. (d) the provisions of Part 1 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (which Part, among other things, sets out the circumstances in which there is good reason for withholding local authority information); and
   5. the costs and benefits of any consultation process or procedure.
5. Where a local authority is authorised or required by this Act or any other enactment to undertake consultation in relation to any decision or matter and the procedure in respect of that consultation is prescribed by this Act or any other enactment, such of the provisions of the principles set out in subsection (1) as are inconsistent with specific requirements of the procedure so prescribed are not to be observed by the local authority in respect of that consultation.

83 Special consultative procedure

1. Where this Act or any other enactment requires a local authority to use or adopt the special consultative procedure, that local authority must—
   1. prepare—
      1. a statement of proposal; and
      2. a summary of the information contained in the statement of proposal (which summary must comply with section 89); and
   2. include the statement of proposal on the agenda for a meeting of the local authority; and
   3. make the statement of proposal available for public inspection at—
      1. the principal public office of the local authority; and
      2. such other places as the local authority considers necessary in order to provide all ratepayers and residents of the district with reasonable access to that statement; and
   4. distribute in accordance with section 89(c) the summary of the information contained in the statement of proposal; and
   5. give public notice, and such other notice as the local authority considers appropriate, of the proposal and the consultation being undertaken; and
   6. include in the public notice a statement about how persons interested in the proposal—
      1. may obtain the summary of information about the proposal; and
      2. may inspect the full proposal; and
   7. include in the public notice a statement of the period within which submissions on the proposal may be made to the local authority; and
   8. ensure that any person who makes a submission on the proposal within that period—
      1. is sent a written notice acknowledging receipt of that person’s submission; and
      2. is given a reasonable opportunity to be heard by the local authority (if that person so requests); and
   9. ensure that the notice given to a person under paragraph (h)(i) contains information—
      1. advising that person of that person’s opportunity to be heard; and
      2. explaining how that person may exercise that person’s opportunity to be heard; and
   10. ensure that, except as otherwise provided by Part 7 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, every meeting at which submissions are heard or at which the local authority, community board, or committee deliberates on the proposal is open to the public; and
   11. subject to the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987, make all written submissions on the proposal available to the public.
2. The period specified in the statement included under subsection (1)(g) must be a period of not less than 1 month beginning with the date of the first publication of the public notice.
3. This section does not prevent a local authority from requesting or considering, before making a decision, comment or advice from an officer of the local authority or any other person in respect of the proposal or any submission or both.

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