NZ Territorial Authorities (2012 Yearly Pattern)

This dataset is the definitive set of territorial authority boundaries for 2012 as defined by the Local Government Commission and/or the territorial authorities themselves but maintained by Statistics New Zealand (who are the custodian). A Territorial Authority is defined under the local government act 2001m as a city or a district council.

Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. The 67 territorial authorities comprise: 12 city councils, 53 district councils, the Auckland Council and the Chatham Islands Territory. Six territorial authorities (Auckland Council, Nelson City Council, Gisborne , Tasman , and Marlborough District Councils) also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities. Chatham Islands Territory undertakes only some of the functions of a regional council, and is therefore not a unitary authority. Territorial authority districts are not subdivisions of regions, and some of them fall within more than one region. Taupo District has the distinction of straddling the boundaries of four different regions. Territorial authorities are based on communities of interest and road access and administer local roading and reserves, sewerage, building consents, the land use and subdivision aspects of resource management, and other local matters.