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Selwyn District Council welcomes the Department of Internal Affairs’ (DIA) new Council Performance Measurement Framework launched today, aiming to give communities across Aotearoa New Zealand greater visibility into how their councils are performing.

The central government initiative allows residents to compare councils on key metrics such as rates, infrastructure investment, debt levels, and population growth.

How Selwyn’s data stacks up: growth with responsibility

DIA has grouped Waikirikiri Selwyn with other small metro and large provincial councils, including, Ashburton, Hastings, Invercargill and Waikato. Among these, Selwyn stands out as the fastest-growing region in the country, with its population doubling over the past 14 years to reach 85,000 residents.

“Despite this rapid growth, Selwyn continues to deliver high-quality services while maintaining affordable rates and low debt levels,” says Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton.

While the DIA data has placed Selwyn with the districts above, Mayor Broughton says it is also important for the community to see how the district stacks up compared to our neighbours and other high-growth councils.

“Compared to our neighbours and other high-growth councils such as Tauranga and Queenstown-Lakes, Selwyn's rates remain low”:*

Graph showing DIA data

“You will also see from our Long-Term Plan 24-34, that we have also planned to keep future increases lower for our community, averaging under 7% over the next eight years and dropping to 3.6% by 2034.”

The DIA data also shows over 80% of Selwyn’s capital spending also goes directly into the services our residents rely on every day - safe roads, clean water, and waste services.

The DIA data also highlights that Selwyn’s debt per rating unit remains below that of neighbouring and other high-growth councils, even as the district expands to meet the needs of the growing population.

Personnel costs per rateable unit remain on-par, or lower, than our neighbours and other high-growth councils.

“We’re investing in infrastructure that lasts and setting us up to continue to be an awesome place to live,” says Mayor Broughton.

Find out more: 

You can explore Selwyn’s performance data and compare it with other councils via our website: https://www.selwyn.govt.nz/dia

You can also view the Department of Internal Affairs Council Profiles here: local government performance metrics - dia.govt.nz

*The graph above shows average forecasted rates per rateable unit for 2025/2026, data sourced from Councils’ Annual Plans.

Last modified: 31 Jul 2025 3:19pm