Breakout sessions

When a crisis hits, leaders are expected to provide certainty that doesn’t exist. Yet elected members and council officers still need to respond and lead in the immediate moments.

This interactive session will put participants inside a fast-moving local government crisis.  Participants will test their skills in responding to a live issue in real time while facing public pressure and media scrutiny, leaving with practical tips for how to navigate a crisis.

Conference attendees who select this session can expect something a little different to the usual breakout session, and will come away with skills to help them communicate under pressure.

This panel will be facilitated by the Co-chairs of Te Maruata and will provide members with practical guidance and confidence to engage with iwi, hapū and mana whenua, whatever their current context but particularly as you navigate local government reforms.

Simplification, rates capping, reform and infrastructure pressures are forcing councils to make difficult choices. This practical, interactive session explores how elected members can assess financial sustainability, test the realism of plans and make transparent trade-offs that balance affordability, service delivery and long-term resilience. 

What happens to regional functions in a changing local government system? This facilitated workshop will bring elected members into the discussion, looking at the practical questions and trade-offs emerging from Resource Management reform, Simplifying Local Government and regional transport planning. Explore how regional spatial planning, infrastructure and land use could work differently, how local voices and iwi Māori relationships can be maintained, and where unitary authorities may create new opportunities. The session will focus on practical tools and questions relevant to different local government structures, rather than fixed answers that may soon change.

What does rates capping mean in practice for councils and communities? Drawing on Wollongong’s experience, Lord Mayor Tania Brown will share the choices, trade-offs and consequences that come with operating under a cap. LGNZ's National Council member, Mayor Mahé Drysdale will facilitate this interactive discussion and audience Q&A.

Local government is facing change across planning, infrastructure, environmental management and council arrangements. This session looks at what those changes mean in practice, how the different reforms connect and what councils need to prepare for. MCERT’s Ruth Fairhall, Executive Lead Policy, will share how the Ministry is bringing together its reform programmes and working across central and local government to support implementation. A panel of local government leaders will then discuss how councils are preparing, where there are opportunities to work together across regions and with central government, and what will help councils put reform into practice.

Councils are under growing pressure to deliver more with limited revenue. This session explores how investment fund portfolios can strengthen long-term financial resilience by creating sustainable income streams, easing reliance on rates and giving councils greater flexibility to respond to future challenges.  We’ll examine the governance and investment decisions behind successful portfolios, including how councils balance risk, return, liquidity and long-term goals. You'll leave with practical ideas for using investment funds as a strategic tool to support stronger financial stewardship and greater financial resilience.

Councils are being asked to walk a narrowing path. The Government expects councils to prepare for future climate risks while avoiding unnecessary gold-plating and exercising discipline with ratepayer money. Communities often see those decisions differently. When homes, businesses, infrastructure or whenua are affected by flooding or other natural hazards, the question is rarely whether council spending was disciplined. It is whether the council did enough. That tension is now playing out in litigation, with claims testing councils' decisions on flood protection, natural hazards and adaptation. At the same time, rising insurance costs and uncertainty about liability are increasing financial risk. In this session, Meredith Connell partners Jessica Easton and Nathan Speir will explore the links between climate assumptions, affordability, insurance and liability. They’ll share practical guidance to help councils make proportionate, defensible decisions before the next major event.

Financial sustainability is the defining challenge facing local government, but diagnosis alone will not close the gap. MartinJenkins will present on moving from understanding financial pressure to acting on it. Drawing on their work across funding and financing, service delivery reviews and structural reform, we'll explore the practical choices councils can make to balance the books in a rates-capped environment: resetting service levels with communities, prioritising investment, clarifying who decides what and at which level, harnessing AI to lift productivity and building credible pathways back to balance.