New Zealand’s largest city is governed by a small, remote body with only a semblance of representative democracy. Given the city’s massive challenges, is that good enough?
Here’s some good environmental news – local governments and local actions have slashed the plastic on our beaches. Incentives, awareness and access are the key.
Street traders in South Africa play a significant role in the country’s economic and social development and deserve to be protected in terms of the Constitution.
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
With Russia poised to launch cyberattacks on US targets, many local governments find themselves without the staff or resources to even recognize when they’re under attack.
If the UK government is serious about levelling up the country, granting its second-tier cities more political and financial independence would be a good place to start.
The important developmental role that intermediate city municipalities can play in creating employment and stimulating growth suggests they should be prioritised.
People can die when the federal government doesn’t work well with state and local governments – the COVID-19 crisis showed that. But the Biden administration has signaled an openness to collaboration.
The problem in municipalities is not that the wrong people are being chosen. It is that the wrong people are doing the choosing – not only of candidates but of what they do if elected.
Nicolas Pirsoul, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau and Maria Armoudian, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
New Zealanders pay the costs of poor environmental and infrastructural governance, but have little opportunity to influence policy in the first place. Here’s how that could change.
The agency will ensure that large water users such as municipalities, public utilities and large companies continue to fund the construction and operation of the large water systems they depend on.
James Lesh, The University of Melbourne and Kali Myers, The University of Melbourne
If communities don’t understand and support local heritage protections, perhaps that’s a reflection on how the system works and not just evidence of a need for public education.
South Africa needs a way to incorporate active citizens within the prevailing constitutional and legal structures, so as to strengthen all levels of government.
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University