The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Update - Thursday 13 August 2020

COVID-19 Local Government Response Unit main page

  • The Auckland region (Auckland Council area) remains at Alert Level 3 until 11:59pm Wednesday 26 August and the rest of New Zealand remains at Alert Level 2.
  • The Response Unit remains on hand to support you. You can send enquiries to your usual SOLGM, LGNZ, DIA contacts or this inbox: LGCGcovid19response@dia.govt.nz

Waste and wet wipes communication

  • Waste related FAQs for Alert Level 3 and Alert Level 2 have been updated and are will be available on the Ministry for the Environment’s website.
  • As you are aware, wet wipes are a major problem for councils’ wastewater treatment plants and sewerage systems; this continues to be a particular problem for some regions.
  • Key messaging content has been produced around the appropriate disposal of wet wipes and this will also be available on the Ministry for the Environment’s website and social media platforms. A link to this information will also soon be available on the COVID-19 website.
  • Both the FAQs and the wet wipes disposal messaging have been sent to WasteMINZ who will distribute these to all councils for their use as required.

Annual reporting timeframes

  • On June 24 the Response Unit and the Office of the Auditor-General informed you of the Government’s proposed legislation to allow for extensions for annual reporting deadlines for local government.
  • The Covid-19 Response (Further Management Measures) Legislation Bill (no2) has passed, giving effect to a two-month extension for local authorities to prepare their annual reports. You can find the legislation here: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2020/0318/latest/LMS361422.html
  • Under this legislation, the new dates for local authorities to meet reporting timeframes are 30 November 2020 for Council Controlled Organisations and 31 December 2020 for Councils.  The extension will be repealed 1 February 2021.
  • It is important to communicate with your auditors to establish whether further time is required to prepare your audit opinion.  
  • While we support the need for high quality reporting at all times, we also appreciate that your communities face an important conversation about their response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the next long-term plan. Therefore, where possible, local authorities should aim to meet the original statutory deadline or complete their annual report as close to that deadline as possible so that your focus can shift to long-term plan preparation.
  • The Auditor General has also written directly to councils to provide further guidance for auditors and councils during this time.

Report on assessed financial impacts of COVID-19

  • As noted to you previously, we are currently finalising our third report on the assessed financial impacts of COVID-19 for councils and their response. You can view the previous two reports on the webpage here: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Local-Government-COVID-19-Response
  • The report aims to provide a clear, national picture of these impacts and could assist with determining priorities should further support to the local government sector be considered as part of the ongoing COVID-19 response. We are on track to publish this report and share it with you shortly.
  • Decisions about the need for further analysis and reports will be made in due course, taking into account the potential impacts of the extension of Alert Level Three in Auckland. 

COVID-19 Response Preparedness

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