Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Local Democracy Reporting
Content from the Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) service is published by Scoop as a registered New Zealand Media Outlet LDR Partner.
Local Democracy Reporting - Latest News [Page 1]
Visitor Levy Won't Support Domestic Tourism - Whakatāne Mayor
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:41 pm | Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter
Nandor Tanczos said he would be happy to see some of the International Visitor Tourism and Conservation Levy go to local councils, as was announced in a National party policy statement this week. More >>
Marlborough's New Water Service Loses Board Member Before First Meeting
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:28 pm | Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter
Marlborough District Council announced on Thursday that former Wellington City Council chief executive Kevin Lavery was no longer part of the board of the region's new water service entity. More >>
Ashburton Ratepayers Pay As Green-Bin Rollout Pushed Back Four Months
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:24 pm | Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter
Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach announced this week the new green bins will start being delivered to households from November and the service will begin on January 4. More >>
Residents Of Flood-Damaged Māngere To Help Allocate $300,000 Recovery Fund
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:20 pm | Mary Afemata - Local Democracy Reporter
The Māngere Recovery Leadership Rōpū developed the plan and fund after hearing from residents, whānau, schools, faith groups and community organisations. More >>
Mackenzie Welcomes Plan To Share Visitor Levy With Councils
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:15 pm | Claire Taylor - Local Democracy Reporter
Mackenzie District mayor Scott Aronsen welcomed the proposal, having long advocated for sustainable funding to address the district’s tourism pressures. More >>
Train Woes Derail Passenger Satisfaction In Wairarapa
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:11 pm | Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter
The rail punctuality measure recorded the percentage of services arriving at key interchange stations and final destination within five minutes of the scheduled time. More >>
Council Climate Fund Backs Masterton Community
Monday, 14 September 2026, 1:08 pm | Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter
Masterton Deputy Mayor Craig Bowyer was happy to support the initiative, given it could help manage the wild cat population in town. More >>
Taranaki Tribes Combine Efforts To Boost Vote
Friday, 11 September 2026, 12:05 pm | Craig Ashworth - Local Democracy Reporting
The social media push would be reinforced using iwi membership databases, education sessions on how to enrol, and by calling and texting uri. More >>
District Spends Six Times More Than Hamilton On Amalgamation Consultants
Friday, 11 September 2026, 12:01 pm | Jordan Smith - Local Democracy Reporter
Thames-Coromandel Mayor Peter Revell said the expenditure was necessary to produce the council's proposal while allowing staff to continue their usual work. More >>
Waimakariri Residents To Help Shape Future Growth
Friday, 11 September 2026, 11:57 am | David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter
The Waimakariri District Council is consulting on an urban plan for future growth in Woodend, Ravenswood and Pegasus. More >>
Kaikōura Council Looks To 'Legitimise' 50-Year Strategy
Friday, 11 September 2026, 11:34 am | David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter
The Kaikōura District Council is consulting on a 50-year economic development strategy and five-year action plan, and its draft local alcohol policy. More >>
Light Returns To Ōpōtiki Street After Winter Of Darkness
Friday, 11 September 2026, 11:29 am | Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter
The existing LED lamps the council owned have been reinstalled with new streetlight columns and went live on Friday. More >>
Ōpōtiki Could Benefit More From Conservation Share Of Visitor Levies - Mayor
Friday, 11 September 2026, 11:03 am | Diane McCarthy - Local Democracy Reporter
East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick welcomed the policy, saying it recognised the important contribution international visitors made to East Coast communities. More >>
Floodlights On The Wish-List For Wellington’s Basin Reserve
Friday, 11 September 2026, 8:12 am | Justin Wong - Local Democracy Reporter
Each year, the council pays the trust a grant to run the Basin’s daily operations, with most going towards maintaining the turf. More >>
Prime Minister Highlights North Canterbury's Growth Potential
Friday, 11 September 2026, 8:07 am | David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter
The Waimakariri district is bucking the trend, with 2.6% economic growth in year to June, ahead of national growth of 1.7%. More >>
Marlborough's New Water Service Loses Board Member Before First Meeting
Friday, 11 September 2026, 7:51 am | Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter
Marlborough District Council announced on Thursday that former Wellington City Council chief executive Kevin Lavery was no longer part of the board of the region's new water service entity. More >>
Six Minutes, Five Directors, One Mission: New Water Body’s First Meeting
Friday, 11 September 2026, 7:47 am | Kira Carrington - Local Democracy Reporter
McNabb said while the management of Marlborough’s pipes was changing, the purpose remained the same — to provide safe and reliable drinking water, wastewater and stormwater to Marlborough communities. More >>
Council Climate Fund Backs Masterton Community
Friday, 11 September 2026, 7:44 am | Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter
The biggest winner of this funding round was the Wairarapa Pūkaha to Kawakawa Trust (WaiP2K) which was granted $15,000 to increase community participation in biodiversity restoration. More >>
Taranaki Tribes Combine Efforts To Boost Vote
Thursday, 10 September 2026, 12:13 pm | Craig Ashworth - Local Democracy Reporting
Social media push would be reinforced using iwi membership databases, education sessions on how to enrol, & by calling & texting uri. On ground there would be door to door visits to whānau & vans on election day to get people to polling stations. More >>
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown Tells Island Residents To 'Cough Up' For Rubbish Service
Thursday, 10 September 2026, 12:08 pm | Torika Tokalau - Local Democracy Reporter
Mr Brown was responding to Kawau resident John Birch who asked the committee to consider the disparate requirements of different residents, if they wanted to introduce a targeted rate. More >>
