The future of New Zealand’s councils is now in the government’s hands, with time running out to submit an amalgamation proposal.
Sunday was the deadline to pitch a Head Start plan for creating larger unitary councils.
Those who have not done so will now have one forced on them under the Back Stop process.
Officials will now assess the proposals – including whether it is realistic and delivers better value to ratepayers.
Approved plans will be signed off in 2027, with the Back Stop process finalised in the same year.
The changes are expected to take effect from the 2028 local elections.
City v rural
Earlier this week, Hamilton District Council voted 12 to three to not participate – meaning the district would end up in a backstop process controlled by central government to ensure reforms still went ahead. Down south, Christchurch City Council unanimously agreed to submit on the Head Start process. Wellington and Wairarapa mayors have agreed to put two amalgamation proposals to ministers.
In the Manawatū-Whanganui, five councils have agreed to work together on a work programme, rather than submit a plan for amalgamation.
Palmerston North and Horowhenua have proposed a new sub-regional council, but Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe says it – along with Rangitīkei, Tararua, Manawatū, and Ruapheu – have chosen an alternative option.
Tripe said the council was not going to let the government decide what it was going to do.
He said it was not against local government reform, but needed more time to consult with the community, as well as consider what financial constraints the council would face.
Nearly 90 percent of those surveyed by Manawatū District Council were opposed to amalgamating.
Mayor Michael Ford said 86 percent of the 750 people who responded to the survey were against amalgamating with any other councils in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
He said more than half refused to answer who they would prefer to join with if forced, while 30 percent voted for Rangitīkei, and 10 percent for Palmerston North.
Ford said Manawatū’s rural community were very opposed to amalgamating with Palmerston North, as they did not want city people telling them how to run their farms.
On announcing the three-month Head Start process in May, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop had a stark message for councils.
“Today we are giving council’s a clear choice. Lead your own reform or we will do it for you,” Bishop said.
In a post on social media this morning, former prime minister Helen Clark said it had been a “haphazard approach” to local government amalgamation, driven by current government.
Clark said unlike the last major change nationwide in 1989, the Local Government Commission was not a key actor and there was no Royal Commission as there was in the change in Auckland councils.