Council debt well managed - report

| New Zealand News | Wednesday September 26 2012 7:35

A new report suggests council debt in New Zealand is relatively well-managed.

The NZIER report, commissioned by Local Government New Zealand, looks at whether the Local Government sector is fiscally responsible.

Principal Economist Shamubeel Eaqub says rates and spending have risen, but they're modest increases relative to properly values or GDP.

"If you look at the details of the individual councils, there are some that are obviously pretty bad, but at the aggregate the numbers are pretty good, so it's really sort of finding that balance of 'what is it that you're trying to fix?'."

Shamubeel Eaqub says when you look across the sector, the level of debt and interest payments are still within quite prudent levels.

Related Subjects

Council | Local Government | NZIER |

New Zealand News

Dunedin schoolgirls privacy breached
A Dunedin school believes its students' privacy is bein ...
Snow starts in the south
Snow has started falling in the South Island.The polar ...
Police look for arsonist in Kapiti
Police on the Kapiti Coast are looking for an alleged a ...
Small tornado just south of Hamilton
A small tornado has been seen in Paterangi, just south ...
Coroner: Tourist crashed while eating spagetti
A coroner hass found a German tourist was trying to eat ...
Who let the dogs out?
A second smuggling has taken place at the Greymouth pou ...
Man with dementia could have survived operation
A man with dementia may have come through an operation ...
Waitaki residents bracing for onslaught
Waitaki residents are bracing themselves for another on ...
Fonterra distances itself from land farms
Fonterra is distancing itself from land farms and the c ...