A presentation to the “Workshop for Councils to Discuss Recent Initiatives to Replace the Current Local Government Act”, delivered on 28 October 1999. The presentation introduces the Local Government Bill, drafted by Chen Palmer, and the power of general competence for which the Bill provides

A presentation to the Regional Councillors Forum, delivered on 4 September 1999. The address expounds the various problems besetting the Local Government Act 1974, with an emphasis on its bulk and complexity. It evaluates whether a power of general competence could be the solution to these problems

An address to the Local Government Forum, delivered in Nelson on 20 February 1997. The address reviews the history of local government in New Zealand, summarising the structure of local government as of 1996, as well as its functions and powers. It examines its various accountability mechanisms,...

An address to the New Zealand Local Government Conference, delivered on 18 November 1995. The address traces the history of local government in New Zealand, from the provincial legislatures of early colonial New Zealand, to their abolishment in 1876. It suggests that this abolishment has...