Session two | 11.50AM | Thursday 22 August

Growing our economy means building thriving communities where people can live, work and play. This session will explore how local government can drive economic growth by unlocking the potential of our towns, cities and regions. We'll dive into infrastructure’s crucial role in economic development, and how councils can use local solutions to overcome challenges that hold regions and communities back from realising their true economic potential.

Economic growth enables our regions, towns and cities to achieve their priorities, and local government plays several roles in unlocking it.

This session will look at how councils and regions can partner with others to innovate and maximise the potential of their unique natural and human capital, to not only create great places to live, work and do business, but to grow our national economy.

It will also look at the role councils can play in providing the right infrastructure to provide the base for economic growth, and how they can use local solutions too.

When New Zealand's cities, districts, and regions are booming, the whole country thrives. Our panel of business experts will explore how councils can kickstart economic growth and success in their own backyards. Tune in to uncover the strategies for propelling New Zealand Inc. to greater heights.

Session three | 3.00PM | Thursday 22 August

Effective decision-making requires diverse perspectives and genuine collaboration, and local councils know that forming authentic partnerships is key to tackling complex local issues. This session will showcase innovative approaches to strengthening relationships between local and central government, while also highlighting successful, meaningful partnerships with business and Māori across the country and overseas. This session will also feature a discussion with experts in both government relations and partnerships with Māori.

Sally Loudon OBE (former CE of the Convention of Scottish Authorities) will talk about her experiences in Scotland of how investment in relationships between the Scottish Government and local government and between local government and all of its partners, including communities have led to improvements in the delivery of policies and where things have gone wrong. She’ll describe the development of the Verity House Agreement (a pact between central and Local government), why it was needed and what needs to happen next.

Communities are having to navigate the increasing challenges of extreme weather events. Now more than ever we need strong partnerships to deliver holistic long-term plans for climate adaptation. The South Dunedin Future Programme is a partnership between the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council and involves mana whenua, stakeholders and a consultant team working to deliver a long-term plan for a safer and more resilient South Dunedin community. This case study session will show local government in action at the coalface of climate change, and explore the key learnings from this complex programme and how the partnerships have evolved to provide the flexibility and agility needed to prepare a long-term climate adaptation plan for South Dunedin.

Session four | 9.00AM | Friday 23 August

The Government has said it does not intend to respond to the Future for Local Government Review. However many of the challenges remain. Increasingly we're seeing the need for councils to consider the best way to structure and organise services for their communities. The current system is under pressure and is not fully serving our communities; however, navigating change can be daunting. This session will explore the connections between the moving parts and will challenge attendees to lean into the tough decisions on structure of local government. Through thought-provoking presentations and key insights from experts, we will examine various national and international approaches to test a range of new possibilities. We will draw inspiration from initiatives like the Dublin Citizens' Assembly and offer valuable insights into alternative models.

Sarah Baddeley, Partner at MartinJenkins, will present the systems framework they have developed to assist elected members thinking about structure. The aim of this framework is to empower councils and communities to be in the driving seat of this complex issues. The Framework will be made available to members after the conference.

This panel will present a range of expertise and perspectives on how to approach what 'good' could look like in terms of local government structure. This is not seeking to present a single answer, but instead to support elected members to engage with this topic and to support them to engage with these questions for their communities.

Session five | 12.00PM | Friday 23 August

Climate change is a universal challenge with significant local repercussions. That’s why councils must collaborate with communities to find sustainable solutions that work for everyone. This session will emphasise the interconnectedness of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and the role local government can play in creating resilient towns, cities and regions. Through discussions and real-world examples, we'll explore pragmatic, scalable and affordable strategies that not only help combat climate change but make our towns, cities and regions better places for our people.

Mayor Jamie Cleine knows firsthand the tough challenges of tackling climate change, just like all our councils on the front line. The Minister for Climate Change, Hon Simon Watts joins Mayor Cleine to delve into the Government's ambitions for climate change adaptation. They'll discuss how central and local governments can join forces to ensure our communities stand strong and resilient against the growing threats of severe weather. Don't miss this exchange on building a safer future together.

Climate change is already lapping at our doorsteps, taking food from our plates, disrupting supply chains and even triggering conflicts. And it's only just getting started. With limited time, resources, and capital, how can local government possibly lead adaptation efforts? And how might adaptations even build community abundance? This presentation starts with the harsh truths, unpacks some positive adaptations from around the world, and arms us with some game-changing tools.

Making a transition to a climate resilient, low emissions future will require significant changes to how we think, plan, and act. A key challenge for local authorities is how to engage specific communities in decisions about their changing futures, when those decisions are formally made at a local authority scale. As we increasingly invite communities to develop ‘super-local’ climate adaptation and transition plans we need to look critically at this interrelationship between local authorities and super-local community decision-making. This presentation will draw on recent case studies to explore how we can connect community and local authority decision-making processes in more meaningful ways that lead to trust in the decisions made by local authorities; and how we can better weave together the value that both technical experts and communities bring to projects, in a way that gives local authorities more confidence in their decision-making.