Bay of Plenty\u2019s three councils of Whakat\u0101ne, Kawerau and \u014cp\u014dtiki unanimously voted to pursue amalgamation, though it was a reluctant agreement, with \u014cp\u014dtiki District councillor Barry Howe describing the government\u2019s process as \u201cblackmail<\/a>\u201d. The West Coast has taken a similar approach \u2013 the Grey District, Westland and Buller councils seem happy enough to work together but haven\u2019t confirmed the shape of their proposal yet.<\/p>\n Marlborough also seems to be running smoothly. Kaik\u014dura District Council picked its lane by voting 6-1 in favour of amalgamation with Marlborough<\/a> rather becoming part of North Canterbury. Marlborough District Council is waiting for more public feedback. The majority of responses from previous rounds of consultation were positive or neutral.<\/p>\n In South Canterbury, the Timaru, Mackenzie, Waimate and Waitaki district councils have agreed to work together on amalgamation, though Ashburton<\/a> has opted out of the process entirely and doesn\u2019t intend to submit a proposal by the deadline.<\/p>\n At risk of failing<\/p>\n As usual with local politics, things are looking messy in Wellington. Wellington mayor Andrew Little is keen on a super city amalgamation expanding from Wellington City to the Wairarapa. Hutt City and Porirua voters already indicated their support for amalgamation in a referendum in 2025, though Upper Hutt mayor Peri Zee<\/a> remains sceptical and the three Wairarapa councils may end up forming a separate proposal.<\/p>\n The Christchurch region has five different options ranging from a Christchurch city entity to a region-wide council with the same borders as Environment Canterbury. The biggest stumbling block may be Selwyn District<\/a>, the rapidly growing region to the city\u2019s south, which has cheaper rates than Christchurch and isn\u2019t too keen to take on the city\u2019s debt. To the north, feedback from Waimakariri residents was overwhelming in favour of creating a North Canterbury council with Hurunui rather than joining Christchurch.<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s future is similarly unclear, though it gets points for the coolest super city nickname: Megatron<\/a>. Hamilton City Council has whittled the decision down to three options of various breadth \u2013 the biggest of which is the \u201cMegatron\u201d version combining everything from Thames-Coromandel to Taup\u014d. Waikato District Council has thrown its weight behind a slightly more limited proposal comprising Waikato District and Hamilton City, along with \u014ctorohanga, Waitomo, South Waikato, Waip\u0101 and Taup\u014d. Meanwhile, King Country councils \u014ctorohanga and Waitomo want to do their own thing and have put forward a simple proposal combining their two organisations. Ministers could end up having to pick their favourite from a grab-bag of Waikato proposals.<\/p>\n Absolute shambles<\/p>\n In other regions, warring councils have hit an impasse or are simply too far behind on their homework to have any chance of meeting the government\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n Nelson-Tasman, Southland and Taranaki all have some variations of the same problem: the town vs country divide.\u00a0Nelson City mayor Nick Smith is a fan of a unified authority but Tasman mayor Tim King is in no rush to get in bed<\/a>. Tasman District Council residents rejected an amalgamation with Nelson City back in 2012 and don\u2019t appear to have had any change of heart.\u00a0\u00a0Invercargill City Council voted in support of a combined council for the Southland region<\/a>, but the councils of Gore and Southland District seem more interested in buddying up together and leaving Invercargill out in the cold. It\u2019s an almost identical story in Taranaki, where Stratford and South Taranaki<\/a> have already voted to team up together but want to keep New Plymouth out of the equation.<\/p>\n Councils in the Horizons Regional Council area, covering Manawat\u016b, Rangit\u012bkei and Whanganui, don\u2019t plan to submit a proposal, with Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe saying \u201cwe are not going to be ready<\/a>\u201d for the August 9 deadline.<\/p>\nNew Zealand currently has 78 different local councils.<\/p>\n