Regions of New Zealand

The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Eleven are governed by an elected regional council, while five are governed by territorial authorities (the second tier of local government) which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. The Chatham Islands Council is similar to a unitary authority, but is authorised under its own enabling legislation.

History and statutory basis
A regional council means one of the regional councils listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act 2002. That schedule lists the regional councils of New Zealand and their Gazette notices following their establishment in 1989. The Local Government Act 2002 requires regional councils to promote sustainable development– the social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of their communities.

Unitary authorities act as regional councils for the purposes of a wide range of Acts and Regulations.

The current regions and most of their councils came about in 1989, as a result of an amalgamation procedure carried out under the Local Government Act 1974. The regional councils replaced the more than 700 ad-hoc bodies which had been formed in the preceding century – roads boards, catchment boards, drainage boards, pest control boards, harbour boards, domain and reserve boards. In addition they took over some roles which had previously been performed by county councils. The unitary authority of the Auckland Council was formed in 2010, replacing the Auckland Regional Council.

The geographic extent of the regions was based largely on drainage basins, the regional boundaries being major drainage divides such as the Southern Alps. This anticipated the responsibilities of the Resource Management Act 1991. Some regional boundaries conform with territorial authority boundaries but there are many exceptions. An example is Taupo District, which is split between four regions, although most of its area falls within the Waikato Region.

Responsibilities
Regional authorities are primarily responsible for environmental management, including water, contaminant discharge and coastal management, river and lake management including flood and drainage control, regional land management; regional transport (including public transport) and harbours, biosecurity or pest management; while territorial authorities are responsible for: local-level land use management (urban and rural planning); network utility services such as water, sewerage, stormwater and solid waste management; local roads; libraries; parks and reserves; and community development. Property rates (land taxes) are used to fund both regional and territorial government activities. There is often a high degree of co-operation between regional and territorial councils as they have complementary roles.

Resource management functions
Regional Councils have these specific functions under the Resource Management Act 1991.
 * Planning for the integrated management of natural and physical resources
 * Planning for regionally significant land uses
 * Soil conservation, water quality and quantity, water ecosystems, natural hazards, hazardous substances
 * Controlling the coastal marine area
 * Controlling via resource consents the taking, use, damming or diverting of water
 * Controlling via resource consents the discharge of contaminants
 * Establishing of rules in a regional plan to allocate water
 * Controlling via resource consents the beds of waterbodies

Other functions
Regional councils also have responsibility for a number of other functions under other statutes;


 * flood and river control under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941,
 * reserves vested in regional councils under the Reserves Act 1977,
 * civil defence under the Civil Defence Act 1990,
 * regional pest management under the Biosecurity Act 1993,
 * harbour and water navigation under the Maritime Transport Act 1994,
 * hazardous waste under the HSNO Act 1996, and,
 * public transport planning under the Land Transport Act 1998.

Regional councils were also given responsibilities for the supervision of the safety of dams in the Building Act 2004.

Areas outside regional boundaries
New Zealand has a number of outlying islands that are not included within regional boundaries. The Chatham Islands is not in a region, although its council has some of the powers of a regional council under the Resource Management Act. The Kermadecs and the sub-Antarctic islands are inhabited only by a small number of Department of Conservation staff. The Conservation Minister is empowered to act as a regional council for these islands.

Governance
Regional councils are popularly elected every three years in accordance with the Local Electoral Act 2001. Councils may use a first past the post or single transferable vote system. The chairperson of a regional council is selected by the elected council members.

Wellington Region
Wellington had a regional council, and earlier the Wellington Regional Planning Authority.

United Councils
In 1978, legislation was passed enabling the formation of regions with United Councils. 20 regions were designated, excluding the ARA and WRC areas. For most of the country this was the first regional level of government since the abolition of provinces in 1876. United Councils were not directly elected bodies - they consisted of appointed councillors from the various Territorial Local Authorities within the region.

The only responsibilities mandated by the legislation were coordination of civil defence and development of a regional plan, although the constituent TLAs could agree on additional responsibilities at the point of formation of each United Council. For example, in a number of cases the United Council took responsibility for the allocation of revenue from regional petrol taxes.

The United Councils were based in the facilities of the largest TLA in the region and largely dependent on the TLAs for resources. They were allowed to levy rates but in most cases had minimal operating budgets (below $100,000 per annum). The notable exception was Canterbury, where the United Council had a number of responsibilities. Only one united council undertook any direct operational activity - a forestry project in Wanganui.

List of United Councils
Source: Summary of the Functions and Activities of United Councils Dept of Internal Affairs, 1984.