Wellington councils spent nearly $250,000 preparing a regional amalgamation proposal under a three-month Government timetable, only for the decision on whether it will progress to be pushed from September until after the general election.
Wellington City Mayor Andrew Little said councils across the region invested significant staff time and ratepayer money developing the proposal after the Government launched its Head Start local government reform process in May.
“Councils across the region invested significant time and ratepayer money because Ministers asked us to move quickly. We did exactly that.”
The Government gave councils three months to submit proposals, with the Head Start submission period closing on 9 August.
It said in August that Cabinet would consider which proposals should progress to detailed design in September.
Instead, the Government announced on Thursday that further work was required before any decisions could be made, with Cabinet now expected to consider the 18 proposals in early 2027.
The general election will be held on 7 November.
Little said Wellington councils had worked to the timetable set by the Government.
“There was considerable time and effort spent on chasing the Government’s amalgamation demands, that we could’ve spent delivering the services and facilities that our communities expect.”
The Wellington proposal was supported by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council and South Wairarapa District Council.
It proposed replacing existing council structures with a region-wide unitary authority combining local and regional council functions.
Little said the four councils had collectively spent nearly $250,000 developing the proposal.
“Ministers made promises they couldn’t keep and have now abandoned the process. Wellington ratepayers are entitled to ask why they were asked to pay for an exercise the Government was not prepared to complete.”
He said councils had been expected to develop major structural reforms within what he described as an unreasonable timeframe.
“Councils across New Zealand were given a totally unreasonable three-month deadline to propose a model for local amalgamation, amid continually-shifting criteria by the Ministers. We met all of the government’s requirements to get a proposal in before the deadline.”
Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter also criticised the delay, saying councils had responded to what he described as a rushed process.
“The Government forced a hastily scrambled Head Start process on the local government sector, excluding regional councils in the making. Even so, councils across the country got on with the job.”
Ponter said the failure to progress any proposals before the election was disappointing for councils and communities that had invested in the process.
“Despite this great work, no proposals progressed before the election beggar’s belief. Put simply, Head Start has failed to get out of the starting blocks.”
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the overall quality of the 18 proposals was high, but none had the unanimous support of their region and some required further analysis.
The Government said more work was needed on representation and streamlined governance, as well as how regional council functions would be transferred and delivered.
“Rather than asking councils to commit further time and resources to finalise proposals now, the Government will now work to fill in these gaps over the next few months. Cabinet will consider these proposals in early-2027,” Watts said.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop said officials had been asked to provide further advice before a recommended package went to Cabinet.
The Government still expects proposals eventually endorsed by Cabinet to be developed in detail and considered for final approval during 2027.
It says Head Start changes are intended to be in place before the 2028 local government elections.
Ponter said Greater Wellington would continue working on reform despite the delay.
“The next Government needs to approach local government reform with greater ambition, greater clarity and greater bravery than we have seen to date.
“New Zealand cannot continue kicking this issue down the road.”
