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Local Government Act 2002

Powers of Minister to act in relation to local authorities - Ministerial powers of assistance and intervention - Minister may call general election

258M: Minister may call general election

You could also call this:

“The Minister can ask for a new vote if a local council isn't doing its job well”

The Minister can call for a new election of a local authority if they have good reasons to believe that the local authority can’t or won’t do its job properly. This could be because of who is in the local authority or because the local authority is not doing one or more of its important tasks well enough.

If the Minister decides to call an election, they will put a notice in the Gazette (which is like a special government newspaper). This notice will say when the election will happen. The election might be earlier than the usual three-yearly elections.

After putting the notice in the Gazette, the Minister must do two things: give a copy of the notice to the local authority as soon as possible, and tell the public about the election and when it will happen.

The election will follow the rules set out in the Local Electoral Act 2001, just like a normal election. However, there’s one difference: the person in charge of running the election (called the electoral officer) must tell people about the election within 7 days of the Minister’s announcement. This is different from the usual timing in section 52 of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4925985.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Government and voting > Elections
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Part 10 Powers of Minister to act in relation to local authorities
Ministerial powers of assistance and intervention: Minister may call general election

258MMinister may call general election

  1. The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, call a general election of a local authority if the Minister believes, on reasonable grounds, that the membership of the local authority is such that the local authority is unable or unwilling to perform its functions and duties and exercise its powers or there is a significant or persistent failure by the local authority to do so in respect of 1 or more of those functions, duties, and powers.

  2. The notice must specify the date on which the election is to be held, which, to avoid doubt, may be a date that is earlier than the date of the next triennial general election for members of the local authority as determined under section 10 of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

  3. The Minister must—

  4. give the local authority a copy of the Gazette notice, as soon as practicable after its publication; and
    1. give public notice of the calling of the election and the date on which the election is to be held.

      1. The Local Electoral Act 2001 applies, with any necessary modifications, to the conduct of an election called by the Minister under this section, as if the election were a triennial general election.

      2. Despite subsection (4), the electoral officer responsible for the election must give notice of the election under section 52 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 no later than 7 days after the Minister gives notice of the election under subsection (1).

      Notes
      • Section 258M: inserted, on , by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 93).