‘Hands off Taupō’ says council

The Taupō District Council is asking Central Government for more time to consider amalgamation options but has stated a clear preference for small-scale rather than regional arrangements.

By Dan Hutchinson

Councillors had already decided on July 28 not to make a merger proposal by the Government’s August 9 deadline, expressing its opposition to mandatory council amalgamation and frustration at the short timeframes.

It was then blindsided by a proposal put forward by Waikato, Waipā and South Waikato district councils. Under the Government’s so-called Head Start process, if at least three councils agreed on a proposal, they could add other councils to their proposal. The western Waikato councils decided to add both Hamilton City and Taupō to its merger proposal, creating a river catchment from the source of the Waikato River to the sea.

Hamilton City also rejected that proposal at a meeting held simultaneously with Taupō District Council’s Thursday meeting.

Taupō councillor Rachel Cameron said the government had created a problem with local government and said the three-month timeframe given to councils to state their preferred merger option was “ridiculous”.

“On a private note, I will be submitting my own proposal and it’s very succinct and very clear. It’s only two words and the second word is ‘off’.”

Te Papamārearea Māori ward councillor Wahine Murch is opposed to the Western Waikato proposal.

“The financial modelling is clear. They don’t want to come here because they like the look of our lake or our mountains. They want to come here because they can’t afford what they want to do without us.”

She said Taupō should team up with other councils that have opposed the process and wanted the community to stand up and march on Parliament if necessary.

“Keep your hands off the Taupō District. Come through the front door, talk to our communities, talk to our iwi, to our hapu, talk to our partners but don’t look at our district and decide that you have the mana to take it because you don’t,” Cr Murch said.

She also said the “flawed process” went against the Local Government Act 2002, which specifies that communities should be consulted on significant decisions.

“They are asking us to go against the very law that we are bound by. They are asking us to go against what their own laws say and that is very concerning to me.”

Taupō councillor Duncan Campbell saw merit in the western Waikato merger proposal and criticised Mayor John Funnell for using “inflammatory and worst case scenarios” in his communications with the public over the issue.

“I think we have been very much focused on form before the function and trapped in financial data over everything and anything else. Because of that we have not had much to offer small potential partners like Ruapehu as they only see themselves losing out and also to bigger ones like Rotorua because we only saw ourselves losing out too.

“The government tried to steer us towards catchment-based models which we seem to have done anything but.”

Cr Campbell said being part of a larger regional council did have advantages, such as increased influence when it came to negotiating with the government and better access to professional services.

Mangakino-Pouakani councillor Hope Woodward said the rushed process had not achieved the desired outcome.

“The government told us this reform was about collaboration, efficiency and stronger local government, yet it seems this process has seen us councils comparing ourselves against one another, defending our positions and competing rather than collaborating.”

Taupō councillor Steve Manunui said none of the options explored so far were “ready or right” for Taupō and they simply needed more time.

“A decision of this magnitude needs careful consideration, not one driven by compressed timeframes from Wellington.

“I think it’s important to let our community know that our recommendation is not a Backstop proposal.  It’s a request for more time to pursue the right Head Start. What’s to come out is, neighbouring councils will have time to declare their positions, genuine partnership opportunities can be explored through open, transparent and respectful discussions.

Deputy Mayor Kevin Taylor characterised the process as “rushed, ill-conceived - and for councils that are ready. We are not.”

“I will not be party to a proposal that sells our district down the river.”

Cr Ngahuia Foreman said she could not understand why any council would voluntarily join a Head Start proposal without having had the time to have full discussions first.

“If we can’t tell you what it’s going to look like after amalgamation, why would we enter into one? It’s just not right. We wouldn’t be good kaitiaki or councillors on behalf of ratepayers if we were to decide to go into this. We want more time, we know this is coming, we want to be open and transparent about what it’s going to involve.”

The deadline for Head Start proposals is 11.59pm on Sunday, August 9. In September the Government will decide which proposals to accept in principal and, in 2027 (depending on the outcome of the general election on November 7 this year) further consulation will take place with the general public over merger proposals.

Those that don’t choose their own amalgamation process by August 9, will have the decision made for them by the government, according to the process outlined three months ago.