|
Youth councils > Local Councils and you
Local Councils and you
What’s local government got to do with me?
 You may have seen in the newspaper an article or advertisement about
the council wanting “public input” on something … it can all sound
pretty dull and boring.
You may have thought “what’s all that got to do with me?”
There’s a lot it’s got to do with you!
- Do you ride your bike to college on a road you think needs a bike lane?
-
Did you play a game on a sports field in the
weekend and think it would be good to have more spaces like these?
-
Did you ever think that the town library should upgrade its youth section?
- Did you ever go out on a Saturday night and get stuck because the buses had stopped running?
ALL these issues are council business. And if you want something
changed in your community, it is your local or your regional council
who you need to talk with.
The nuts and bolts of it all: What’s local government?
There are two types of local governments in Aotearoa New Zealand –
regional councils and the local council for your town, city or region.
Your local council
Your town or city council is run by an elected group (the Mayor and
councillors) who were voted in by people in your community. There are
also all the people employed by them from the big managers to the
librarians and dog control guys.
As well as taking care of roads and community services such as
libraries, councils plan for their community’s future. They also make
bylaws, which are like little laws especially for your community.
Community boards
Local councils also have community boards made up of people from your
community like your teacher or the business person who lives down the
road.
Community boards are there to help people have a voice in the things
the council decides on. The community board isn’t employed by council,
instead members are voted in by your community. This means they are
independent and can disagree with council decisions and suggest other
ways of doing things.
Lots of people like to talk with their community board or give their
submission or petition to the community board because it can feel much
less scary than going directly to the councillors. The community board
can take the person’s submission to the council for them.
Regional councils
Regional councils cover a bigger geographical area than local councils
(there are only 12 to cover the whole of the country) and deal with
environmental stuff like managing lakes and natural areas, how the
buses and trains are run and they can give the go ahead on new
subdivisions.
Some regional councils now have environmental youth councils, does yours?
The law and why local government needs to consult with young people
Yep, there is a law which says what local government is all about and
what they should be doing. It’s called the Local Government Act 2002.
It’s pretty new for a law and gives people a real chance to be a part
of decision-making about their community. It requires local government
to consult everyone in the community and that includes young people
about issues and decisions that affect them.
Also remember that the more feedback from young people the council
gets, the better decisions they can make. Giving your council
your thoughts and opinions helps them to remain fair and effective.
You are a member of the community just as much as any adult - so let’s get to it!
Top of page
|