Editorial: Amalgamation - to be or not to be

OPINION: Are the amalgamation talks between Manawatu District Council and Palmerston North City Council ever going to amount to anything?

Talk of a merger has been bubbling around for years, then finally last year it looked like we were going to see some action as a report from Morrison Low was commissioned to look at the options.

Months passed until those recommendations surfaced. One suggested a straight up marriage of convenience between the two amicable parties, the others involved boundary changes that would increase the amount of land under city council control. It finally looked like it was heading somewhere.

Tomorrow the city council will digest the report and its neighbour's preference for a boundary change, with the likelihood of some money changing hands if it pans out that way.

The city council has been less decisive during the process.

The report should have shone some light on the path forward for the city council, but it instead muddied the waters and looks like it has made matters even more confusing.

The joint committee of the two councils that covers amalgamation talks now wants to go to the public for their thoughts on where to go from here. It all feels a bit like paralysis through analysis.

Community consultation has its place, but so does leadership. Throwing the matter out to the public will be another costly chapter to the already protracted proposal. Add to that a looming local body election and it does not take too much foresight to see the possible snags up ahead. That election could – and probably will – bring in new faces and voices around the council tables. All of those people will have fresh, new views, which may differ from their predecessors.

So, does that mean the process starts all over again?

Another looming development is the Auckland Super City elections. If, somehow, they go without too many problems it will surely only be a matter of time before that blueprint is rolled out through the country.

Palmerston North and Manawatu councils have the right idea by trying to take control of their own destinies. Their main enemies in achieving that goal appear to be themselves and the time they are taking.

Bringing video technology into top class football games must happen after yesterday's debacle in the match between England and Germany at the World Cup. English midfielder Frank Lampard's shot struck the crossbar and cleared the line by about half a metre.

Everyone knew it was a goal – except for the officials on the field. The non-call has marred the tournament and further damages the reputation of Fifa boss Sepp Blatter, whose anti-technology stance is as well-known as it is baffling.

- © Fairfax NZ News