This Act is about making sure local government works well for everyone in New Zealand. You live in a community with its own needs and ideas, and this Act helps local government understand and work with those needs. The Act says local government should be democratic and effective, which means it should listen to and work for the people.

The Act does a few main things to help local government work well. It states the purpose of local government, which is to work for the people. It also gives local authorities the power to decide what they do and how they do it, so they can make choices that are best for their community.

The Act wants local authorities to be accountable to their communities, which means they should explain what they are doing and why. It also wants local authorities to help their communities be happy and healthy, by looking after social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being, and by thinking about the future and how their decisions will affect it.

Some parts of the Act have been changed over time, like section 3(d), which was updated in 2019 to include more about community well-being. This change was made by the Local Government (Community Well-being) Amendment Act 2019.

The Act is trying to help local government make good decisions that will benefit everyone in the community, and to make sure they are working in a way that is sustainable and good for the future.