29895 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government

29895 (2026). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government: How many councils have, in the current or previous term, established committees in which non-democratically elected members held voting rights and the committee had delegated decision-making authority, and what advice, if any, has the Minister received on this?

Hon Simon Watts: On 26 May I received advice that at least 75 of 78 councils have made discretionary appointments of non-democratically elected people to committees under the Local Government Act 2002. As Minister of Local Government, I received the following briefings relating to how many councils have established committees with non-democratically elected members: • Briefing: External appointments to council committees and subcommittees, 23 April 2025 • Aide memoire: Response to request for advice about local authority committees, 15 May 2026 • Briefing: Voting powers of local authority committee members, 22 April 2026