Regionals or unitaries? Building an evaluative framework to compare regional and unitary authority environmental management performance

Abstract

Talk and speculation with respect to the form and function of local government is once again on the political agenda. More specifically, speculation centres around the establishment of larger or 'super' forms of local government, where the current two tiered system of local government - regional and territorial - may be disestablished and replaced with a single unitary structure (MfE pers comm., 1998a). This latest development has the potential to have far reaching consequences for environmental management in New Zealand.

Much debate about the current local government structure in New Zealand is centred on whether it enables councils to provide integrated environmental management and deliver the best possible environmental outcomes. Some have argued that the two tier system of regional councils and territorial authorities is unnecessary and inefficient, while others suggest that combining the two, as in the unitary authority model for example, has the potential to create conflicts of interest between councils' regulatory and service delivery roles.

In the context of further reforms, it is important there be an objective, open and transparent process by which to evaluate local government performance with respect to environmental management. Past evaluations have been limited in their ability to measure local government environmental performance as the focus has primarily been on evaluation of single issues.

This study develops a framework for assessment based around sustainable management principles that could be used to assess environmental management performance within the current two-tiered and unitary system. The criteria used are based around my interpretation of key aspects of sustainable management. By no means an exhaustive list, I have orientated the criteria toward a four stage evaluation, focusing on inputs, processes, outcomes and outputs, in the hope that these divisions will encompass a broad range of factors. By focusing on these four categories, it should be possible to identify linkages and establish what are limiting factors. For example, poor environmental performance may be a result of a lack of resources or poor review systems in place. Similarly, a lack of public participation mechanisms may be a causative factor in low public acceptance of rules, or compliance with consent conditions.