PCE submission on Simplifying Local Government: A draft proposal consultation document

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment has submitted on the Government’s Simplifying Local Government proposals.

The submission cautions that the current process places form before function. Regional councils carry essential environmental responsibilities that rely on specialist expertise and catchment scale oversight. The Commissioner recommends that the following functions should not be delivered at a level below that of the region (or at least a catchment):

• catchment management

• biosecurity and biodiversity

• environmental compliance and enforcement

• environmental monitoring and reporting.

Reorganising the regional institutional landscape before clarifying which functions must be delivered regionally or centrally risks unnecessary fragmentation and weaker environmental outcomes.

To address this, the Commissioner recommends pausing the process until central government completes a comprehensive review of the functions delivered by regional and unitary councils.

Local government reform provides a real opportunity to strengthen environmental stewardship. To succeed, it must start with a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered — and at what scale — before deciding who should deliver it.