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Insights 40: 25 October 2024
The Australian: Dr Oliver Hartwich on judicial activism and NZ's Supreme Court
 
Podcast: What New Zealand and Australia learned from handling COVID
 
Newsroom: Dr Eric Crampton on first rule of govt club: The state protects the state
A German solution for New Zealand’s local government woes
Dr Oliver Hartwich | Executive Director | oliver.hartwich@nzinitiative.org.nz
Wellington City Council’s recent turmoil highlights a widespread misunderstanding of New Zealand’s local governance. Most Kiwis believe mayors wield significant power over councils. In reality, the mayoral title is largely ceremonial. Mayors hold no more practical power than other councillors. 

This disconnect between public perception and reality explains many frustrations with local government. The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW, population 18 million) once faced the same problem – and successfully resolved it. 

In the 1990s, NRW grappled with council-related challenges like those we see in New Zealand today. That was no coincidence: Both NRW and New Zealand inherited a system of local government from Britain, under which unelected council chief executives hold significant power, leaving elected representatives struggling to implement their mandates. 

Recognising these issues, the NRW state parliament voted for sweeping reforms. It transferred executive powers from chief executives to elected majors. 

The first directly elected mayors with executive powers took office in 1999, marking the beginning of a new era in local governance. 

To understand the impact of these changes, we interviewed Oliver Wittke, one of the first mayors elected under the new system, for our podcast. He later became Minister of Transport and Construction in NRW, and eventually Parliamentary Secretary in the Federal Economics Ministry under Angela Merkel. 

Wittke was elected Lord Mayor of Gelsenkirchen, a city with a population similar to Wellington’s, at the age of 33. He explained how the reforms aligned public expectations with mayoral responsibilities. 

Consolidating political and administrative power brought efficiency and accountability to local governance. It empowered mayors to implement their mandates effectively, whilst maintaining democratic checks and balances.  

Crucially, it clarified lines of responsibility, making it easier for citizens to understand who was accountable for council decisions. 

Now, nearly 30 years after these reforms, Wittke says, no one in NRW would consider reverting to the old system. What was once controversial is now widely accepted, having delivered the clarity and accountability that the previous structure lacked. 

With Wellington’s woes continuing to make headlines, New Zealand should consider NRW’s example. Aligning perceptions and streamlining governance can transform dysfunctional systems. 

The lesson for New Zealand is clear: bold reform, when carefully implemented, can revitalise local democracy and attract the calibre of leadership our communities deserve.  

Perhaps it is time we too ensured that those we elect to lead our cities and towns have the power to do so effectively. 

Listen to our podcast with Oliver Wittke here
Doing rangatiratanga
Dr Eric Crampton | Chief Economist | eric.crampton@nzinitiative.org.nz
On Tuesday, Ngāi Tahu set a compelling vision of tino rangatiratanga centred on economic self-determination.  

The late Māori King Arikinui Tuheitia asked iwi and hapū to hold four hui to build ‘kotahitanga’ – unity.  

Ngāi Tahu’s hui brought Canadian First Nations leaders to show assembled iwi leaders how Canada’s indigenous peoples are doing rangatiratanga, rather than just talking about it.  

Canada’s change over the past few decades is remarkable. Lands under First Nations authority are becoming places of opportunity – largely thanks to decades of work of Chief Manny Jules, the Kamloops-based head of the First Nations Tax Commission.  

Chief Derek Epp of the Ch'íyáqtel Nation near Chilliwack, BC, explained how his small band progressed to economic self-determination grounded in authority over their own lands.  

In 1990, Ch'íyáqtel Band Council depended on central government for 90% of its revenue. Since then, his nation has used its autonomy to build new housing and commercial developments. Some housing is for band members. Other housing generates revenue for the band, not just from the initial sale but also from ongoing tax revenue.  

Ch'íyáqtel sets property and other taxes within its jurisdiction, and simply pays the town of Chilliwack for its services.  

Now, only 10% of the Band Council’s revenue is from central government. The rest derives from the economic development that has been enabled on their own lands. Chief Epp told us, “I will never say we are dependent on the government.” 

His band is buying back previously alienated land and putting it under their own authority. That enables more development and the restoration of a river that is important to his people.  

Grand Chief Mike LeBourdais and Chief Commissioner Manny Jules also discussed a shift towards economic empowerment.  

Te Maire Tau, Upoko of host hapū Ngāi Tūāhuriri, invited me along to talk about the opportunities I see for applying Canada’s lessons to New Zealand.  

Here, an iwi must beg council permission to build on their own land, and nothing can be done easily on Māori freehold land. Meanwhile, outside Vancouver, the Squamish are building thousands of apartments on their own authority – and Vancouver City’s chief planner wants to learn from their example of fast delivery.  

We have a housing shortage and regional underdevelopment. Current policy stops iwi from using their own resources to build on their own land.  

Tino rangatiraganga as economic self-determination – doing rangatiraganga – could be a unifying vision for all of us. 
Seven days in Nepal
Dr James Kierstead | Research Fellow | james.kierstead@nzinitiative.org.nz
A few weeks ago, soon after checking into my hotel in Varanasi, I got a knock at my door. It was the manager, asking if I’d noticed that my visa was about to run out in precisely twenty-four hours.  

‘Oh gosh,’ I said. ‘I guess I can extend it online?’ 

The manager shook his head. It took seven to ten days to extend an Indian visa online. In the meantime it would be illegal for me to stay at his hotel, or at any other hotel in India.  

‘What do I do?’ I asked. 

‘You must get across the border by tomorrow.’ 

We left before dawn for the airport, where I boarded a flight with Buddha Air, the only airline which runs entirely on positive thinking. Soon I was higher than the world’s highest mountains, and soon after that, I was checking into a lovely little hotel in Kathmandu. 

Tales of derring-do like that don’t need morals, but this is an Insights column and I’m under pressure to squeeze out some insights.  

So, the first moral is to always check the dates of your visa. But we don’t need to dwell on that. 

The second moral we can dwell on for a little longer, since it allows me to point blame at others rather than myself.  

What were the main effects of my little detour to Nepal? Well, I fell in love with Kathmandu, discovered Bhaktapur, one of the nicest historic towns I’ve ever been to, and I met some lovely people.  

I also spent about a week in Nepal, spending money in its hotels and restaurants that I had been planning on spending in hotels and restaurants in India.  

I got an e-visa to re-enter India within a few days, but not being able to easily extend my visa effectively expelled me from a country I wanted to be in.  

I’m just one person, but if India’s arcane visa system is turning other tourists away (or kicking them out), that might add up to a non-negligible tax on the country’s tourist industry. 

That’s something Nepal seems to appreciate. When I got to Kathmandu, I paid US$30 for an ‘on arrival’ visa. And then I got to reap the benefits of my seven days in Nepal – as did an undisclosed number of Kathmandu bars. 
 
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