As the legal landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, staying ahead of the curve has never been more critical for lawyers and their clients. In our ongoing commitment to providing unparalleled legal intelligence, this latest installment of our Expert’s Edge series, we sit down with Rebecca Atkins BA (Hons) LLB, senior portfolio editor, to understand in more detail what is involved in maintaining Thomson Reuter’s suite of local government law offerings.
What does your role as legal editor at Thomson Reuters entail?
I oversee and manage the commentary and legislation content for different publications, including Local Government Law in New Zealand (hardcopy and on Westlaw NZ). Staying up to date and informed about parliamentary processes and government announcements is crucial for understanding the evolving landscape of NZ local government law.
My day starts with scanning the New Zealand Parliament website and other Government department websites for upcoming legislative changes, paying close attention to Bills nearing assent and any that are fast-moving. I then collaborate with the relevant authors, discussing the Bills’ progress and implications and planning next steps in terms of updating commentary.
I spend a lot of hours coordinating incoming manuscripts from authors and editing them for clarity, accuracy and usability on Westlaw NZ. Generally, this means verifying every case citation and legislation reference, checking judgment quotations and pinpointing paragraph locations, and ensuring the style and structure of cross-references to commentary, cases and legislation will support robust linking to primary materials on Westlaw NZ.
After editorial review, the manuscript is converted into a mark-up language that uses tags to describe the style and format of the data. I complete a quality check to confirm new and amended content is present and every Westlaw NZ link-generating tag has been populated correctly. Once approved, the update is published across hardcopy, Westlaw NZ and ProView (ebook), and this is followed by another round of quality checks in each modality. All of this is driven by strict update cycles. I work closely with the authors to commission manuscripts according to deadlines, and I am constantly reassessing priorities as legislative and case law developments evolve.
Can you tell us what it is about local government law that interests you?
Local government law is a huge and fascinating area that touches our daily lives more than most people realise. It’s also constantly changing as governments shift and laws get updated. Take the Local Government Act 2002. Over the years, it’s swung between a broad ‘four well-beings’ purpose (social, economic, environmental, cultural) and a tighter focus on ‘core services’, like water, roads and waste, depending on who’s in power. Those changes really matter – they influence what councils can do, what they prioritise and how they spend money.
Councils tend to have broad general competence, but they’re still tied to what statutes allow, what’s been delegated to them, and the basics of administrative law. That push-and-pull leads to some interesting cases about things like setting rates, making bylaws and charging development contributions. Central government also plays a big role, often nudging local decisions through national policy statements, directives and bespoke legislation – for example, on housing supply or water reform. That raises ongoing questions about democratic accountability and who pays for what. This dynamic is evident in the Three Waters reforms. These reforms highlight the tension between central government’s drive for nationally consistent solutions to infrastructure challenges and the traditional autonomy local councils have had in delivering services.
Another area I find interesting is the recognition of Māori rights in local government. Increasingly, local authorities are weaving in Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles through Māori wards, mana whenua seats on committees, and co-governance over natural resources. The legal and political discussions around representation, consultation and tikanga integration are always active and evolving.
What are some of the key developments currently shaping local government law?
Looking ahead, the author team is closely tracking, and working on new commentary for, several significant shifts in local government law, including the:
- Local Government (Water Services) Act 2025 and Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2025, setting up a new substantive framework for water services delivery;
- Public Works (Critical Infrastructure) Amendment Act 2025, accelerating the land acquisition process under the Public Works Act 1981 for critical infrastructure projects (this precedes a wider PWA review expected in 2026);
- Local Government (System Improvements) Amendment Bill, intended to help address cost of living concerns by reducing pressure on council rates, refocusing the purpose of local government, better measuring and publicising council performance, prioritising core services in council spending, strengthening council accountability and transparency, and providing regulatory relief to councils.
How does Westlaw consistently provide the most current, comprehensive and accurate legal information in local government law?
The Local Government Law in New Zealand team of expert authors ensures that the carefully curated local government content is always kept up-to-date with recent case law. I keep the authors closely informed about the legislative pipeline – flagging which parts of the publication will be affected, what new or revised analysis will be needed, and when.
I schedule and prioritise updates to publish on, or as close as possible to, commencement dates. When the author manuscript arrives, I carefully review it for currency, accuracy and completeness, and confirm that every cited judgment is accessible on Westlaw NZ. The result is a living, authoritative resource that practitioners can depend on for both precision and speed.
Expert author team
Dr Grant Hewison Barrister, Auckland
Judge David Kirkpatrick Chief Environment Court Judge, Auckland
Sarah Mitchell, Partner Simpson Grierson Auckland
Linda O’Reilly Special Counsel, Tompkins Wake Auckland
Kenneth Palmer Retired Associate Professor Faculty of Law, Auckland University
Graeme Palmer Special Counsel, Simpson Grierson Auckland
Mike Wakefield Partner, Simpson Grierson Wellington
Lisa Wansbrough Partner, Brookfields Lawyers Auckland
Thank you to Rebecca Atkins, senior portfolio editor and her team of expert authors in local government. As a legal professional, if you are in need of the most up-to-date and trusted local government legal content in New Zealand, look no further than the Local Government Practice Area on Westlaw New Zealand.
Other articles in The Expert’s Edge series: Current Civil Litigation insights, Current Employment insights, Current Aviation and Space insights and Current Criminal insights.
