For the people, by the minister: Ministerial interventions in subnational, elected bodies and a principled approach to their future application

Although frequently ignored, New Zealand’s democratically-elected, subnational bodies provide many of the day-to-day services we rely upon, from water and sewerage to healthcare and education. However, the broad discretion enjoyed by ministers responsible for local government, District Health Boards, school boards of trustees and tertiary institution councils means elected representatives could easily be removed with little justification. This paper reviews the ministerial intervention regimes for each of these bodies and concludes that a principled approach to their use is needed to protect democratic values and prevent a concentration of power with the ministers. It suggests democracy, subsidiarity, the scale of the problem, the importance/centrality of the function, timing, complexity, transparency, consultation, apolitical decision-making and minimising interventions as principles upon which to critically analyse past interventions and ensure these powers are used more effectively in future.