Unitary authority

What's different about a unitary authority

There are two kinds of councils in New Zealand - the territorial authority and the regional authority (‘council' and 'authority' are often used interchangeably - their meaning is essentially the same). 

Territorial and regional authorities have different responsibilities. Most areas of New Zealand have a separate regional council with several territorial authorities (city or district councils) within its borders. 

The territorial authority provides services such as

• fresh water
• rubbish collection and disposal, litter control
• sewage treatment, parks and reserves and leisure facilities
• roads and streetlighting,  control of land subdivision
• building and resource consents processing, animal control
• libraries and museums
• food premises and liquor licensing

The regional authority provides services such as

• bio-security/pest control
• civil defence/emergency management
• river and flood control
• environmental protection
• regional land transport
• water quantity and quality regulation
• maritime navigation and safety
• some building control and consents processing (for example, dams)

Some services and functions are carried out by both types of authority:

• elections and public meetings
• local bylaw administration

A unitary authority is a territorial authority that also has all the responsibility of a regional authority - unifying both roles in one local government body which covers one geographical area.

Most New Zealand property owners pay two separate rates – one to the territorial authority and one to the regional authority. Nelsonians pay just one, a combined rate, recognising the dual role that the Council plays.   

How Nelson became a unitary authority

After the first Unitary Authority was established in Gisborne, in 1989, the central government of the time decided to abolish the Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council, which had Nelson, Tasman, Marlborough and Kaikoura as territorial authorities within its boundaries. Following an election in 1992 in which residents voted for their councils to become unitary authorities, Kaikoura moved under the umbrella of the Canterbury Regional Council (ECAN), while Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough all became unitary authorities.   

As of the 2010 amalgamation of multiple councils in the Auckland area, there are now six unitary authorities across New Zealand, including the largest and smallest councils in the country. 

*1. Source: https://www.stats.govt.nz/tools/2018-census-place-summaries/ Accessed 25/3/2024.