Porirua Mayor Anita Baker has challenged the Government to continue with Wellington regional reform after it delayed decisions on council amalgamation proposals until next year.
“I’m fuming,” Baker said.
“For six years, we have been pushed to confront how local government should be organised across the Wellington region. This Government turned up the pressure, told us the status quo wasn’t good enough and gave us a very tight timeframe to develop alternatives. So we did.
“Our four councils put forward a credible proposal after hundreds of hours of work and significant cost to ratepayers. You cannot spend months telling councils to be brave and work together, then lose your nerve when they do exactly that.”
Porirua City Council joined Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council and South Wairarapa District Council in supporting a proposal for a region-wide unitary authority.
Baker said the councils had engaged in good faith with the Government and their communities while responding to pressure for major structural change.
“It is difficult to reconcile this loss of nerve with a Government that demands greater efficiency from councils, threatens rates caps and continues to impose additional costs on local government.
“At a time when households are under real cost-of-living pressure, ratepayers are entitled to ask what has been achieved by putting councils through an expensive, time-consuming process only to send us back to the starting line.”
Labour’s Kāpiti candidate Sophie Handford, whose electorate includes Whitby, Paremata, Plimmerton and Camborne in northern Porirua, also criticised the delay and its cost to councils.
“Kāpiti Coast District Council and Porirua City Council were given just months to undertake significant work, commit staff time and spend ratepayer resources responding to a deadline imposed by the Government,” Handford said.
“Now, after councils have done the work National demanded of them, the Government has abandoned its own timetable and pushed the process beyond the election.”
Handford said the change raised questions about the Government’s handling of the process.
“For a Government that repeatedly talks about fiscal discipline, this is a real failure of planning and follow-through.
“People in Kāpiti and Porirua deserve a Government that treats their councils’ time and ratepayer money with respect. Decisions about the future of local government should be handled carefully and transparently, not through a rushed process that is changed after councils have already done the work.”
The Government announced on Thursday that none of the 18 Head Start proposals submitted nationally would move into detailed design at this stage.
Cabinet will instead consider the proposals in early 2027.
The Government had launched Head Start in May, giving councils three months to develop and submit proposals. In August, it said Cabinet would decide in September which proposals would progress to detailed design.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the overall quality of the proposals was high but more work was required before Cabinet could make final decisions.
“While the overall quality of proposals was high, none came with the unanimous view of the region, and some needed further analysis before they can progress. These are important gaps we must fill in prior to making final decisions.”
The Government identified representation, streamlined governance and the transfer and delivery of regional functions as areas requiring further development.
Rather than asking councils to undertake more detailed work immediately, officials will work through those issues over the coming months.
Baker also warned that any reform involving Greater Wellington Regional Council needed to clearly address what would happen to its responsibilities.
“I do not want Greater Wellington’s responsibilities simply dumped on Porirua and other city and district councils.”
She said major structural reform required central government to make difficult decisions, pointing to the creation of Auckland Council as an example.
“Wellington deserves the same clarity. Reform requires political courage from both sides of the central-local government relationship.
“Councils have stepped up. Porirua has stepped up. We have done what was asked of us. The Government should not walk away now. It needs to decide what it believes in and have the courage to back it.”
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop said the Government remained committed to local government reform and officials had been asked to provide further advice before a recommended package went to Cabinet.
The Government still expects proposals endorsed by Cabinet to be developed and considered for final approval during 2027, with any Head Start changes intended to be in place before the 2028 local elections.