Greens in local government seek to protect the climate and improve the wellbeing of people and nature. We stand for genuine Te Tiriti o Waitangi-based governance and deliberative, inclusive decision-making by communities. We work to ensure that revenue and expenditure are equitable and adequate, and seek to build strong, collaborative relationships with central government, across local government, local businesses and community and voluntary sector organisations, and the wider community.
Vision
Councils, boards and community boards connect, enable and help lead our communities, to nurture wellbeing for people and planet and and seek to meet current and future challenges.
Values and Principles
Local government activities and processes must reflect the following values and principles:
- Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi should underpin local government decision-making. Officials should recognise the importance of rangatiratanga amongst our local iwi, hapū, and whānau, and value the knowledge and principles within Te Ao Māori.
- Ecological Wisdom: Local government should recognise the interrelationship of our communities with the ecosystems in which they are situated, and should prioritise restoring habitats and ecosystems, including by equitably reducing the ecological ‘footprint’ of our communities.
- Social Responsibility: Local government should improve equity, compassion and inclusivity within the communities it serves, delivering benefits for all residents, and protecting the interests of future generations.
- Appropriate Decision-making: Local government should be accessible, inclusive and collaborative, representing the diversity of our communities; and should be transparent and accountable.
- Non-violence: Local government should be based on open, respectful and collaborative relationships, and seek to address local historic and/or systemic violence to marginalised groups.
- Effectiveness: Local government should be resilient, and have sufficient funding, capability, and support to carry out its mandated functions.
- Catalyst: Local government should improve and use its expertise to instigate and facilitate change for a resilient future, in the face of the climate, nature and inequality crises.
Strategic Priorities
The Green Party’s strategic goals include:
“All people will be empowered to shape the systems that affect them through community engagement enabled by good evidence, co-design, and adequate resourcing.”
“Our democracy will be accessible and enable inclusive, participatory decisions, where people can influence the collective choices that affect them.”
Actions in this policy that will help achieve this include:
Actions by Local Government
- In partnership with local iwi and hapū, establish authentic Tiriti-based decision-making models at local and iwi rohe levels, including co-governance arrangements. (1.1)
- Collaboratively design and implement community-based decision-making processes that are meaningful and inclusive. (2.1)
- Leverage, illuminate and celebrate the influence of marginalised groups in decision-making, including children and young people, the Rainbow community, disabled people, and people from diverse ethnic communities. (2.3)
- Set budgets that are centred upon fulfilling local government’s critical, long-term contributions to wellbeing, and that make full use of revenues (including rates and debt) and expenditure to do so. (3.1)
- Establish systems of collaboration with private sector organisations, community and voluntary sector organisations, and other government organisations, to develop aligned and coordinated action towards community wellbeing. (5.1)
Enabling Actions by Central Government
When imposing obligations on, transferring responsibilities to, or delegating regulatory enforcement responsibilities to local government organisations:
- Ensure Te Tiriti o Waitangi rights and responsibilities are protected and upheld;
- Provide the required resources, including funding and updated expertise;
- Allow for flexibility and collaborative approaches;
- Ensure that the scale of the local government organisation is suited to the scale of the obligation or responsibility; and
- Monitor compliance and implementation. (5.12)
Connected Policies:
This policy is highly related to this other party policy: Democracy and Constitutional Transformation. Local Government also plays a critical role in implementing a wide range of other policies, including, but not limited to, Housing and Sustainable Development, Transport, Climate Change, Environmental Protection, Conservation, Arts, Culture and Heritage, and Recreation and Sport.
