Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Bill

I present a legislative statement on the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Bill.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.

I move, That the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Amendment Bill be now read a second time.

The bill makes two different but equally important changes to how information is shared by councils under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. First, the bill will improve natural hazard information provided in land information memoranda, known as LIMs. The second change will enable councils to withhold information that could prejudice national security.

It is critical that New Zealanders have access to the best available natural hazard information when looking to buy a property. Buying a property can be the biggest investment people will ever make and should therefore be provided with the best information before they make a financial commitment. We know New Zealand is prone to natural hazards. This year, the North Island has been hit hard by extreme weather events, devastating people’s lives and properties. We also know that climate change will mean that extreme weather events like these will become more severe and more frequent.

The LIM is an important tool for communicating natural hazard information and a key document for buyers when deciding to buy property. However, LIMs are not doing a great job of informing the public about natural hazards. Currently, councils are not consistent in how they present natural hazard information on LIMs. This means that it is difficult for buyers to compare the information for properties in different parts of the country. Sometimes, key natural hazard information is missing from LIMs. Important information on the district plan or regional information is not required on LIMs. This is not ideal as regional councils may have better information and expertise than territorial authorities.

LIMs can at times be overly long and highly technical. This can make it difficult for the average person to read or understand. Councils can be reluctant to add plain English explanations or summaries to LIMs due to fears about legal action. This bill tackles these problems by ensuring that LIMs contain natural hazard information that is clear, concise, nationally more consistent, and easier for people to understand. It will do this by giving clearer requirements for councils when including natural hazard information in LIMs. The bill also allows for the development of regulations to set out how natural hazard information is presented in LIMs.

We know it is important for LIMs to be clear and understandable. This bill seeks to balance representing natural hazard information accurately while being in clear, non-technical language. This is important to both property buyers and sellers.

The bill also requires regional councils to share the natural hazard information they have with territorial authorities so that it can be included on LIMs. This will mean buyers will get regional- and district-level information through a single document. The bill gives councils greater certainty and reduces the risk of legal action against them by limiting council’s liability when sharing natural hazard information in good faith. Clearer requirements in the bill and regulations will give greater confidence to councils when sharing natural hazard content in LIMs.

Now, turning to the second part of the bill, the bill will align the grounds for withholding information with those under the Official Information Act (OIA). Unlike the OIA, this Act does not currently have grounds for councils to conclusively withhold information that may prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand or the international relations of the Government. Time has moved on since the Act was drafted in 1987 and the local government landscape is now very different. Councils face threats from cyber-attacks and they hold strategic assets and information that need to be protected. In aligning this Act with the OIA, this bill will allow councils and the intelligence agencies to work more closely together to manage security concerns. The bill reduces the risk of information being disclosed that could prejudice New Zealand’s national security.

I’d like to thank the Governance and Administration Committee for its work on this bill. I want to acknowledge all the submissions on the bill. The majority of submissions supported the bill, and the submissions provided very useful and informative feedback.

Councils agreed the system needs to change and agreed with the need for more clarity and certainty in the law. However, councils also raised some concerns about the bill’s provisions related to LIMs. I support the select committee changes to address these concerns. The select committee has made some changes to the language in the bill to ensure that the requirements for councils are clearer. Councils requested that the bill should specifically require the Minister to consult with local government when developing regulations. The select committee have accepted this request, and I support this change, as councils are the ones that are the most impacted by the regulations. Their input is critical to ensure the regulations are workable and achieve their objectives.

The select committee also extended the back-up commencement date to 1 July 2025 for when the LIM-related provisions in the bill have to be in force. Extending the date by six months ensures that there is ample time to work with councils on the regulations and for councils to prepare for the changes.

Coming now to the new withholding ground provisions in the bill, all councils who submitted on the new withholding grounds in the bill supported the additions, as it will align the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act with the OIA. Councils recognised the important role they play in society and the valuable information they hold. Councils said this bill will allow them to proactively engage with the intelligence agencies on concerns they may have, including cyber-attacks. The bill will also support the intelligence agencies to proactively engage with councils on important security matters and enable the two parties to have more free and frank conversations.

I want to acknowledge those few submitters who disagree with the addition of new withholding grounds in the bill, and I thank them for their submissions. While I note their concerns about access to information being restricted, the Official Information Act has long established rules that provide for transparency while also managing risks to national security and international relations. The bill simply extends these provisions to local government.

It is important that councils can talk to our intelligence agencies about any concerns they may have and that communication is kept protected. The Ombudsman will continue to play an important role in ensuring that the new withholding grounds are not being used unreasonably, and I expect any complaints to be followed up in a timely manner. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate interrupted.