Kia ora koutou,

I want to begin by thanking everyone who has attended our local government reform meetings and shared their views.

The feedback has been thoughtful, constructive, and focused on achieving the best long-term outcome for the Tararua District.

I also want to acknowledge the councillors and council staff who have attended and worked hard behind the scenes to support these discussions.

At the time of writing we’re half way through these meetings to discuss the reforms and hear directly from residents about the future they want for the Tararua District.

The consistent message so far has been frustration with both the process and the timeframe. People are struggling to understand how communities can work through changes of this scale in just three months, when the decisions being discussed could reshape local government for generations.

For many, it feels like Central Government is trying to force “shotgun weddings” between councils before communities have confidence in what the end result will look like, or whether it will deliver better outcomes.

One of the strongest concerns raised has been the enormous cost that amalgamations could create. Merging councils is not free. It involves major organisational change, systems integration, staffing restructures, governance changes, and infrastructure alignment. Ultimately, those costs would fall on ratepayers, yet there is no guarantee rates would reduce or services improve.

That concern is backed up by evidence. In 2022, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission released a report titled ‘Does Size Matter? The Impact of Local Government Structure on Cost Efficiency’. The research found that increasing council size did not automatically improve efficiency, and that some smaller councils were among the most efficient performers.

The report also challenges the idea that New Zealand has too many councils for its population. Compared with many countries, New Zealand actually has a relatively low number of councils per capita. The issue is not necessarily how many councils we have, but how local government is structured and how councils work together.

It is no secret that I support change within local government. During the election campaign I spoke openly about the need for stronger collaboration, shared services, and finding ways to deliver better value for ratepayers. As a council, we had begun exploring ways to put this into action while still protecting local voice and identity.

Unfortunately, those kinds of practical reform options are not what has been put on the table.

The only option currently proposed is large scale unitary authorities, merging a number of councils like ours with a regional council to form a bigger organisation. That has created real concern that this process risks weakening local decision making and reducing the voice of smaller rural communities.

As we continue through this process, we will be guided by the feedback we receive and hear from our communities and work hard to achieve the best outcome possible for the District, that will maximise efficiency, local voice and decision making.

Ngā mihi nui, many thanks, Mayor Scott Gilmore.