Citizen participation in New Zealand local government: a survey

Abstract

This study reports data relating to citizen participation in local government. The data was obtained from 960 returned questionnaires, from a total of 3,000 distributed to residents of cities and boroughs throughout New Zealand. The survey seeks to find the relationships between three different population sizes of urban local bodies end the level of citizen participation in local affairs. The data shows that the level of citizen participation in urban local bodies with populations less than 8,000 is higher than urban local bodies with populations of less than 110,000 but more than 30,000, and those with populations of 8,000-30,000. At the same time, the level of citizen participation in urban local bodies with populations of less than 110,000 but more than 30,000 is higher than those with populations of 8,000-30,000. The thesis offers an explanation of these differing rates of participation. It also suggests that, as a result of the 1989 local body amalgamations, overall levels of citizen participation in local government might be lower than they were prior to the amalgamations. However, the additional data required to strengthen this suggestion is beyond the scope of the thesis.