Govt’s ‘back to basics’ local govt programme kills wellbeing – and trust

Opinion: Last week the Government unveiled its Local Government Forward Work Programme at the Local Government NZ conference. Given the significance of the commitments made in the election campaign, and the promise of long-term city and regional infrastructure deals on the cards, there must have been an air of anticipation as the Prime Minister launched into his address.
What Christopher Luxon said came as a bit of a shock to an unsuspecting crowd. He challenged them “to rein in the fantasies” and essentially get back to basics. This wasn’t what many had expected to hear. From what I can gather, there was no warning this was the Government’s approach. Neither had local government been consulted in the development of the Local Government Forward Work Programme. That is extraordinary.