Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says Wellington councils answered the Government’s challenge to be bold about local government reform, only to have months of work and ratepayer investment left in limbo after ministers pushed decisions beyond the election.
The Government has confirmed Cabinet will not consider councils’ Head Start amalgamation proposals until early 2027, saying further work is required on issues including representation and the transfer of regional council functions.
Councils had been given a tight deadline to develop proposals for restructuring local government, including possible new unitary authorities. By the August deadline, 18 Head Start proposals had been submitted, but Local Government Minister Simon Watts says none had unanimous support across their respective regions.
Baker says councils were encouraged to be brave and ambitious, invested significant staff time and ratepayer money, and met the Government’s timetable — only for the process to now be paused. She says the decision leaves communities questioning what all that work was for.
Across Wellington, councils spent nearly $250,000 developing their regional proposal, according to Wellington Mayor Andrew Little. Nationally, documents obtained by 1News estimated the cost of the process across councils at more than $10.5 million, including staff costs.
The Government says the delay does not mean reform has been abandoned. Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop say they remain committed to changing the local government structure and expect reforms to be in place before the 2028 local elections.
For councils and ratepayers, however, the immediate question is what happens next after being asked to invest time and money developing major structural changes that will now sit unresolved until after Election 2026.
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