The Department of Internal Affairs’ Local Government and Community Branch is helping the public develop a better understanding of what local government does and how they might become more effectively engaged in their local and regional council’s decision-making. The objective is to promote higher levels of participation and, overall, more effective and responsive local government.
In order to achieve this, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is developing a communication strategy to ensure the public are aware of the opportunities that are available to them for participation, engagement and involvement in local government.
This survey of a representative sample of New Zealanders provides measures of the current situation with respect to people’s knowledge of and interest in local government. It also measures the type of contact people have with local government and their engagement with it.
The objectives of the survey were to collect information on:
- Public knowledge of and interest in local government
- New Zealanders’ awareness and understanding of how they can participate in local government decision-making processes
- Their current participation in local government decision-making, and
- The enablers and barriers to their participation.