The Minister of Local Government is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for supporting and overseeing New Zealand's local government system.
The current minister is Simon Watts.
History The portfolio was established in 1972, prior to which, local government had been within the purview of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Notwithstanding the separation of those responsibilities, the offices of Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Local Government were held by the same person for the first twelve years that a separate local government portfolio existed. The Minister of Local Government was supported by the Department of Internal Affairs until 1 July 2026, when administrative responsibility for the portfolio was transferred to the new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport.
Responsibilities The Minister of Local Government is responsible for New Zealand's system of local government and leads the government's relationship with councils. The Local Government Act 2002 confers powers on the minister to intervene at a council if it has a governance problem that the council is failing to address.
Because water services are a function of local government, the minister has been responsible for water policy (for example, the Water Services Reform Programme and Local Water Done Well) and is responsible for oversight of the Water Services Authority—Taumata Arowai, New Zealand's drinking water regulator.
The minister also has a role supporting the relationship between central government and local government, oversight of the Local Government Commission, and acts as the territorial authority for the 11 islands that are not part of a local authority's district and as the harbour authority for Lake Taupō.
List of ministers The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Local Government.
Key
No.NamePortraitTerm of officePrime Minister 1 Allan Highet 9 February 1972 8 December 1972 Marshall2Henry May25 November 1972 29 November 1975 Kirk Rowling (1) Allan Highet 29 November 1975 26 July 1984 Muldoon3Michael Bassett26 July 19849 February 1990 LangePalmer 4Philip Woollaston 9 February 19902 November 1990 Moore 5 Warren Cooper 2 November 1990 2 March 1994 Bolger 5 John Banks 2 March 1994 16 December 1996 6 Christine Fletcher 16 December 1996 12 September 1997 7 Maurice Williamson 12 September 1997 31 August 1998 8 Tony Ryall 31 August 1998 9 August 1999 Shipley 9 Jack Elder 9 August 1999 10 December 1999 10 Sandra Lee 10 December 1999 15 August 2002 Clark 11 Chris Carter 15 August 2002 19 October 200512Mark Burton19 October 20055 November 2007 13 Nanaia Mahuta 5 November 2007 19 November 2008 14 Rodney Hide 19 November 2008 14 December 2011 Key 15 Nick Smith 14 December 2011 21 March 2012–Gerry Brownlee(acting)21 March 20122 April 2012 16 David Carter 3 April 2012 31 January 2013 17 Chris Tremain 31 January 2013 28 January 2014 18 Paula Bennett 28 January 2014 14 December 2015 19 Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 14 December 2015 20 December 2016 20 Anne Tolley 20 December 2016 26 October 2017 English(13)Nanaia Mahuta26 October 20171 February 2023 ArdernHipkins 21 Kieran McAnulty 1 February 2023 27 November 2023 22 Simeon Brown 27 November 2023 24 January 2025 Luxon 23 Simon Watts 24 January 2025 present
See also Minister of Internal Affairs (New Zealand)
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