It’s time we asked the fundamental question. Can we have strong local economies and vigorous communities when so much public decision-making is made by central government in Wellington?

As Dr Oliver Hartwich pointed out in his National Business Review article recently, New Zealand is an international outlier when the size of central government, compared to local government, is considered. We are one of the most fiscally centralised countries in the OECD and this is one competition we don’t want to win.

In the UK, the election of the Cameron government has seen a complete turnaround in government policy towards local government. The United Kingdom’s Localism Act 2011 is intended to reduce the influence of Whitehall and strengthen the decision-making powers of councils and communities. In New Zealand the opposite is happening, with Ministers giving themselves greater powers to override decisions made by local and regional councillors and further centralising our public sector.

David Cameron and his team believe that the national interest is best served by decisions being made closer to where the impact is felt. Local economies benefit and so does the national economy. In turn, this strengthens the relevance and importance of local democracy and helps protect the liberty that allows communities and businesses to flourish.

To encourage a similar approach, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is pleased to be partnering with The New Zealand Initiative for the October 2 panel discussion ‘Towards a New Localism’.

Promoting debate about the role of local government and the need to put power back in the hands of communities is important to LGNZ’s members and important to New Zealand.

As people will be aware, we are now in the middle of the local government elections. People often have a lot to say about their councils, which is one of the strengths of a democracy, but if you don’t vote you can hardly be critical.

The future of our communities, our economy and our nation depends upon voters making considered choices – that’s a responsibility that we all share. But it can only happen if we recognise the critical role local democracy plays, and this requires a meaningful debate on the future of localism.

Malcolm Alexander is the Chief Executive of Local Government New Zealand www.lgnz.co.nz