Submission on LGNZ Funding Discussion Paper

The list of functions and responsibilities tabled in Part 2 of the paper would lead one to suggest that a number of those functions may be more properly the responsibility of, both from a management and financial point of view, central government. Aside from the example of water services (as discussed in later parts of the paper), environmental protection, emergency management and a number of planning and regulation areas could well be worthy of consideration. There are a number of examples in the paper that support this point – often expensive interventions that may have benefits well beyond the ‘local’.