Local government reform: Mayor Phil Mauger
The New Zealand Government wants local government bodies to amalgamate.
We’ve had a busy time recently with the Government’s direction for councils to get together to come up with options for amalgamation within their regions.
It’s a big piece of work, so we’re cracking on with looking at what the reform process means for us.
We’ve also started having conversations with our neighbours. Understandably, there are some reservations about the pace and scale of change, and we respect that each council needs time to work through what this means for their communities.
Local voice is a fundamental that we all need to protect. In Christchurch, we’re open to considering unitary council options, which means we’d take over the functions the regional Council currently manages, like public transport and management of rivers – but there’s still a lot of work to be done before the August deadline.
I’ve always supported the intent of local government reform. The Head Start pathway provides an opportunity for us to develop our own approach, not have it developed for us. Done well, it will mean better infrastructure planning, stronger regional advocacy, and more efficient use of ratepayer funds, which is better for all our communities.
At the end of the day, our approach is to be a constructive and willing partner. We want to work with neighbouring councils, mana whenua and all stakeholders to have the conversations that need to happen. Rest assured, we’re using our time constructively to come up with the best possible solution for all our communities.
