In the second part of Local Aotearoa's look at local government elections, we pivot from putting place the systems needed to hold an election to looking at the election campaign itself.

With just under a year to go until the next local government elections, in this episode (the first of two parts) we take a look at local government elections, start to explore some of the political dynamics at play across the country, how your council organises these elections, and the role of the Local Electoral Act.

In this week's episode we open up the tap on the Three Waters - one of the 'Big Three" reforms currently facing New Zealand's local government sector, with the proposed amalgamation of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services into four large, multi-regional entities. So how did we get here? What's proposed? And what are some of the arguments for and against the proposed reforms?

Welcome to Local Aotearoa, New Zealand’s first podcast dedicated to the world of local government. In the first episode, I introduce myself and give a high level overview of local government in New Zealand including its history, its current structure, roles, and funding, and some of the big reforms facing the sector.