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Kaipara District Council has unanimously rejected a proposal to progress a major overhaul of Northland local government, saying there is insufficient evidence the preferred reform model would benefit the district.
The preferred option would see Northland transition through two unitary authorities before eventually moving to a single council covering the entire region.
The decision to not to back the proposal was made at Wednesday’s council meeting after elected members considered the Morrison Low Advisory Head Start options analysis, community feedback, and recommendations from the Northland Local Government Reform Elected Member Steering Group.
Mayor Jonathan Larsen said councillors remained open to discussions on local government reform and supported initiatives that improved service delivery across Northland, including reducing duplication and strengthening regional coordination where it delivered clear benefits for communities.
“Working together to achieve collective benefits for Northland remains important, and we will continue to support collaborative approaches that improve outcomes for our Kaipara community,” he said.
He said he believed Northland could achieve stronger regional collaboration through three unitary councils sharing the delivery of regional services, rather than progressing toward a single Northland-wide authority.
“We think Northland can work more closely together without losing local decision-making.”
Larsen said the council was not convinced that the proposed model would deliver better outcomes for Kaipara.
“Kaipara is a largely rural district. We do not have a city centre. We are also in a much better position than our neighbours in terms of debt per rateable property.
“There is not enough evidence of benefits, or what improvements there would be, if Kaipara was to merge with our neighbours that have very different characteristics.
“The analysis confirms that there are no economies of scale, and no specific other benefits of scale that could be identified for project delivery in Northland.”
Council noted survey feedback showed residents were open to exploring local government reform, provided it maintained local representation and delivered clear benefits for communities and ratepayers.
“People have told us they’re willing to look at change, but they want to clearly understand the costs, benefits and impacts before decisions are made. And so do we as their representatives,” Larsen said.
“Our elected members also do not agree with the concept of a voluntary proposal being submitted that is not unanimously supported by all affected district councils.”
