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Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Leaders open to council merger
Greymouth Mayor Tania Gibson. Photo: Grey District Council A "mega merger" of the West Coast's four councils into a unitary structure is not off the cards, local government leaders say. Southland District Mayor Rob Scott has just backed a full-scale merger in the Deep South. On the West Coast, an attempt in 2015 to merge the four councils through a citizens-initiated referendum resulted in the Local Government Commission ordering a combined district plan instead — Te Tai o Poutini Plan (TTPP). Greymouth Mayor Tania Gibson said the region's leaders were always talking about ways of working more closely but much of that had yet to move beyond discussion. "I'm not opposed to it ... it has to come as far as I'm concerned, and it will come eventually." However, merging councils could also effectively mean "throwing out the baby with the bath water" and ending in "bureaucratic excess," Mrs Gibson said. Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine said he did not believe the current government had an appetite to impose amalgamations on the West Coast, "but I wouldn't be surprised". "I honestly think Local Water Done Well will be a bit of a test as to how councils work together," he said. Buller, Grey and Westland district councils are considering forming a joint company or CCO (council-controlled organisation) to take over three waters (drinking water, wastewater and stormwater) functions throughout the region. West Coast Regional Council chairman Peter Haddock said he believed a restructure had to come, based on the need for "rates affordability". It would have to be on the basis of "fair representation" across the whole region. He could foresee that, bringing about at least a two-council unitary authority structure that absorbed the current environmental functions of the regional council and combined with the current Westland and Grey district councils into a southern West Coast unitary council. "There's got to be a way forward in the future. That's a question for the new council. "However, the one plan [TTPP] is the key to it," Cr Haddock said. The TTPP provided a model for collaboration by implementing a regime "run by the same set of planning rules" regardless of local authority boundaries in the region. "That will be the founding document for it going forward. "[But] I still believe there has to be some form of service centre in Buller, Grey and Westland." Mr Cleine said he could definitely see a merger coming but he did not sense any real groundswell yet to formally instigate it. "There isn't an appetite I don't think for a full governance merger-type scenario — just because of our geography." He had "no fixed views" on the possibility, apart from not wanting Buller district swallowed up by a mega council administering the whole region. "We shouldn't rule out some form of closer working together on the West Coast ... apart from not having one structure." He agreed the Local Water Done Well reform was an important step and a tangible foretaste for wider restructure. The joint CCO proposal was a "no-brainer to access cheaper capital" for asset provision, given the Westland, Grey and Buller councils faced a combined bill of $250 million to upgrade three-waters infrastructure. If that got runs on the board it might give more impetus to other efforts to come together, Mr Cleine said. "Seeing how that lands and getting that up and running could be a good vehicle to look at other areas." Westland Mayor Helen Lash was not available for comment. — Greymouth Star
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Environment Southland backs council merger idea
Invercargill City Council Building on Esk St, Invercargill. Photo: ODT / Abbey Palmer Environment Southland, Southland's regional council, has backed an investigation that could result in local authorities merging. Last year, Southland's mayor called for the four existing Southland councils to merge into two unitary authorities and requested the Local Government Commission look into it further. The commission asked other local councils whether they would be open to governance changes being explored. Southland's regional council chairman, Nicol Horrell, said councillors supported looking at all the options including shared services or reorganisation. "It's important that we retain local governance while achieving cost savings for our communities," he said. "There hasn't been significant change in local council representation in 40 years, and we know our community is looking for this. Southland could lead the way." The council agreed to ask the commission not to delay the investigation until after this year's local government elections. The commission was expected to decide on whether to investigate the proposal next month. The entire process would likely take three to five years. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Ex-mayor favours district re-think
No to amalgamation but yes to a reorganisation, says a former Gore mayor, who believes it is time for organisation of districts to start making a bit more sense. Southland District Mayor Rob Scott has been pushing for the amalgamation of the four Southland districts into two unitary authorities. This year, Mr Scott and the Southland District Council submitted their proposal "Southland Local Government. Together, for our Future" to the Local Government Commission. Former Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks said he had a different view. "I hate the name 'amalgamation'. I think there's lots of opportunities for reorganisation, but amalgamation has a bad track record. "I'd challenge anyone to point to amalgamations that have saved money and kept services at a similar level, or improved services." However, there was room for a reorganisation of districts to better suit the region's geography, he said. "Let's work in units where we naturally fit, as opposed to trying to force communities together that don't have a lot in common with each other. "If you overlay that with a unitary authority, it would be good. You could have two in Southland, plus the city council." Mr Hicks said his experience in the retail sector had led him to believe the Gore district should be expanded out to all who would seek out services in Gore. "The people who came to shop at The Warehouse were from Lumsden, Browns in the west, Clinton, Wyndham, and as far down as the coast. "That's the natural catchment for a district council based in this part of the world and I think it would work really well," he said. How rural districts and their catchments were organised did not make much sense to him and it was worth looking at, he said. "At the moment we have Waikaia administered by Southland District Council based in Invercargill. It's a long way away. "The likes of Tapanui, most of the business people do, if they can't do it there, they'll come to Gore. They won't go to Balclutha, yet they're a part of Clutha." Mr Hicks said the Southland District Council's proposal had its merits but it required more scrutiny and more options. "I think the time is right. I'm just not sure the scale of what's been talked about so far is one that would deliver value for the community," On the promised savings for the district, Mr Hicks said he was sceptical of the amounts promised, and also it should not just be around saving money. "Could you promise cost savings? I don't think there would be anything like what people believe there might be. "If you're only doing it to save money, I think we'll all be sadly disappointed with what we get." It was about finding the best fit for communities and he wanted more common sense when determining districts' borders. When Gore first amalgamated to include Mataura, Mr Hicks was a staunch opponent, but said he now believed there were benefits to be had with councils joining and reorganising. "I'm very in favour of having the debate, having the discussion. But let's not rush to one option first."
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Time to reorganise but not amalgamate: Hicks
No to amalgamation but yes to a reorganisation, says a former Gore mayor, who believes it is time for the regions to start making a bit more sense. Southland District Council Mayor Rob Scott has been pushing for the amalgamation of the four Southland districts into two unitary authorities. This year, Mr Scott and the Southland District Council submitted their proposal "Southland Local Government. Together, for our Future" to the Local Government Commission. Former Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks said he had a different view. "I hate the name 'amalgamation'. I think there's lot of opportunities for reorganisation, but amalgamation has a bad track record. "I'd challenge anyone to point to amalgamations that have saved money and kept services at a similar level, or improved services," he said. However Mr Hicks believed there was room for a reorganisation of districts to better suit the region's geography. "Let's work in units where we naturally fit, as opposed to trying to force communities together that don't have a lot in common with each other." "If you overlay that with a unitary authority, it would be good. You could have two in Southland, plus the city council," he said. Mr Hicks said his experience in the retail sector had led him to believe the Gore District should be expanded out to all who would seek out services in Gore. "The people who came to shop at The Warehouse were from Lumsden, Browns in the west, Clinton, Wyndham, and as far down as the coast. "That's the natural catchment for a district council based in this part of the world and I think it would work really well," he said. The state of rural districts and their various catchments did not make much sense to Mr Hicks, and he said it was worth looking at. "At the moment we have Waikaia administered by Southland District Council based in Invercargill. It's a long way away. "The likes of Tapanui, most of the business people do, if they can't do it there, they'll come to Gore. They won't go to Balclutha, yet they're a part of Clutha," he said. Mr Hicks was complimentary about the Southland District Council's proposal, but said it required more scrutiny and more options. "I think the time is right. I'm just not sure the scale of what's been talked about so far is one that would deliver value for the community," he said. On the promised savings for the district, Mr Hicks said he was sceptical of the amounts promised, and it should not just be around saving money. "Could you promise cost savings? I don't think there would be anything like what people believe there might be. "If you're only doing it to save money, I think we'll all be sadly disappointed with what we get," he said. It was about finding the best fit for communities moving forward, and Mr Hicks said he wanted more common sense for a district's geography. When Gore first amalgamated to include Mataura, Mr Hicks was a staunch opponent, but now believed there were benefits to be had with councils joining and reorganising. But Mr Hicks said it was about exploring the issue and finding the best possible solutions, not just the first one to be put forward. "I'm very in favour of having the debate, having the discussion. But let's not rush to one option first."
Scoop
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Order For Regional Council Candidate Names To Be Random
Candidate names will appear in random order for the 2025 triennial election, Waikato regional councillors have decided. At the 30 April meeting, councillors were asked to consider three options for regional council candidates, all of which cost the same: Alphabetical order: the candidate names are arranged in alphabetical order of surname. Pseudo-random order: the order of candidate names is determined randomly, and all voting documents use that order. Fully random order: the order of candidate names is arranged randomly for each voting document. A council report said that in the 2022 local government election, 73 per cent of councils used fully random order, 25 per cent alphabetical and 2 per cent pseudo-random. At the time of writing the report, no local councils in the Waikato region had determined their ordering preference for this year's election. The Local Government Commission considered the impact of candidate name order on election outcomes as part of its Review of the Local Government Act 2002 and the Local Electoral Act 2001. This included a limited analysis of data from the 2007 local elections and a review of relevant international research. The commission concluded that the issue is complex, and there is currently no definitive evidence that can be directly applied to local elections in New Zealand. However, a selection of key research papers compiled by Taituarā consistently found that candidates listed first on the ballot generally receive a higher share of votes. This effect is especially pronounced in elections where voters have limited knowledge of the candidates. The studies found the magnitude of the effect varies, with some studies reporting an increase of around 1 percentage point, and others noting gains of up to 3 percentage points for first-listed candidates. With respect to the candidate profile book which accompanies voting papers mailed to voters in September, the candidate statements will appear in alphabetical order, no matter what order candidates are listed on the voting documents. Candidate nominations open on 4 July and close at 12pm on 1 August. More information about the 2025 elections, including the job of councillor, can be found at Election Day is Saturday, 11 October. In a decision made in September 2023, councillors agreed to stick with the first past the post voting system. This meeting was livestreamed. You can watch the recording here:
