Local government pecuniary interests register

In November last year the Local Government (Pecuniary Interests Register) Amendment Act 2022 (Act) came into force. This amendment to the Local Government Act 2002 requires local authorities to keep a register of the pecuniary interests of their elected members (as under the Local Electoral Act 2001), including community and local board members. Local authorities must also make a summary of the information in the register, publicly available.

A pecuniary interest, as defined in the Act, is “a matter or activity of financial benefit to the member.” These interests need to be recorded and include:

• a company of which the member is a director;
• a company or business entity in which the member has a pecuniary interest;
• if employed, the employers name and business activity;
• description of payments received for activities involved in;
• countries travelled to, purpose of travel and persons contributing to costs;
• organisations where member is a member or part of the governing body;
• trusts in which a member has a beneficial interest;
• location of property in which a member has a legal interest; and
• gifts of more than $500.

The Act makes it mandatory for members to declare their pecuniary interests; with the Bill creating an offence for members who do not meet their responsibilities.

The legislation states that “The purpose of the register of members’ pecuniary interests is to record members’ interests so as to provide transparency and to strengthen public trust and confidence in local government processes and decision-making.” However, the list of pecuniary interests that members are required to disclose includes information that most people would consider private or confidential. One of the concerns raised during the amendment’s progress related to the fact that it is difficult to find people willing to run for election for local authorities, local boards, and community boards. Requiring that members make this information available to the public could be an added impediment for those considering running for local government.

In light of this privacy issue, the Bill sets out that the
local authority is only to compile a summary of the contents of the register and make that publicly available. This allows for some specific details to be withheld from the public, while still delivering on increased transparency. The local authority is also required to ensure that information in the register is only used or disclosed in accordance with the purpose of the register, and that information provided by a member is removed after seven years.

Most local authorities have some form of pecuniary interests register for the purposes of managing conflicts of interest. However, this amendment better aligns the requirements for notifying and declaring pecuniary interests for local authorities with those of members of Parliament, and will deliver consistency across local authorities.