Engaging with your Council

Anyone can take part in council processes. Members of the public can attend most council meetings and make submissions when the council is undertaking consultation.

Talk to your local council staff and councillors. By getting to know your council, your club will be in a better position when issues arise for consultation.

Make sure your club and members make submissions on issues they wish to be heard on. If you do not make a submission, you cannot get involved in proceedings later on, or appeal any decisions.

Most councils use their websites to publicise issues where they are consulting the community. The documents are also generally available from council offices and at council service centres and public libraries. Councils are always encouraged to provide easy to understand summaries of their proposals and plans. They should also identify if you are to be affected by a decision, encourage you to make your views known, and provide you with reasons for their decisions.

If you want to be consulted and informed about the work of your council, seek out information about its proposals, plans and decisions. You can make an informed contribution to the council's work in your community if you become engaged in its processes. More information on how local councils work can be found on the Local Government Commission website. To identify local council boundaries, visit StatsNZ’s dynamic geographical boundary viewer.