Councils ponder best way forward

Debate about how Waikato councils should be structured in the future has been fuelled by a Waikato University professor's report identifying six possible ways forward – but none foolproof.

The report by Professor Frank Scrimgeour was released yesterday to the 13 councils within the Waikato regional council's boundaries.

The community is now being asked to have its say about whether the councils should be reorganised before the 2013 election.

The six options range from enhancing the current structure or having one regional council and 10 territorial authorities to following Auckland's lead and having one single super council.

Prof Scrimgeour said there were advantages and disadvantages to all the options, but he thought a single council was a step too far. "I expect the debate to focus on the optimum number of unitary councils for the region."

Waipa councillor Michael Cox, who is a member of the group supporting a change, said having a city council and rural council would be like having town and country. The report suggested the rural council would not be financially viable.

The report was prompted by a group of about 25 high-profile and vocal Waikato business and community leaders, including former Hamilton mayor Margaret Evans, who have been campaigning for a reorganisation.

The group fears Waikato will be left behind at a central government level if councils do not join forces.

Prof Scrimgeour said there needed to be a lot of discussion before a final decision was made. "We don't want change for change's sake and we don't want change that's going to make it worse."

He said the final outcome needed to have the capacity to deliver both effective and environmental management and local government services and engage with all communities while having a credible voice in Wellington.

"Is a region of three voices ever going to be persuasive anywhere?" Prof Scrimgeour asked.

He warned that changing boundaries was also a tricky and complex area and the population and location of those areas needed careful consideration.

The public is invited to put in submissions on the future governance report and a public forum will be held at Waikato University in July.

Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley said the report was interesting, but he thought Bay of Plenty should be included in possible merger discussions because there was an opportunity for the two regional councils to work closer together.

He feared that having a central-led environment protection agency instead of a regional council would not be a very democratic approach and swayed towards retaining the regional council and merging the territorial councils into two to five unitary councils.

Waitomo Mayor Mark Ammon, who represents one of the smaller district councils in the region, said he would only support amalgamation if there were significant financial benefits.

"Financial gains are virtually the only reason because at the moment we have the best democratic model an authority can have.

"Going bigger weakens the link with local representation of our people."

Waikato MP Lindsay Tisch said it was not a foregone conclusion that councils would merge and said there was already some opposition.

"In some rural areas there's no appetite for change and in some other areas there is," he said.

"They have to be convinced there will be economies of scale. They want fair representation and they want to know it's a win-win for ratepayers."

He said that, like himself, the Government had no directive and wanted to hear what the communities thought of consolidation.

While the answers were thought-provoking, he said there was no easy answer.

A public presentation of the report will be held at 11am on Monday at the Wel Energy Trust Academy of Performing Arts at Waikato University.

- © Fairfax NZ News