Mr Oppatt was a Rotorua district councillor for 15 years and has spent the past eight years serving as a Bay of Plenty regional councillor representing Rotorua.
He pointed to a one-day conference being held in Tauranga - sponsored by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga Chamber of Commerce - on February 1, called "Rethinking Local Government in the Bay of Plenty".
Talk of a Bay of Plenty super council had been around for years but since the Government passed the Local Government Act 2002 - Amendment Act 2012 in December it would be a lot easier to unify local authorities if a strong case was made, Mr Oppatt said
To date, only the Far North District Council has lodged a reorganisation application to become a unitary authority.
"Whether we like it or not, we would have no mayor, no council, rates would go up and Rotorua would lose control of its own future to a Tauranga-based unitary authority.
"The danger is anyone can make an application, any individual or local authority ... we would end up a minnow in a very large council."
He said an amalgamation would cover the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City, Western Bay, Rotorua, Kawerau, Whakatane and Opotiki.
However, Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman John Cronin said the conference was organised to inform the community about the changes in legislation and what options were available. "If we can do it better, then we owe it to our ratepayers to discuss any options available. Some of our operations could be better managed locally and at a cheaper cost.
"It is our responsibility to make sure we look at all the alternatives for ratepayers."
Mr Cronin said he could not see the region rushing into anything.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said there had been no discussion, at any level, regarding a unitary authority.
"We are adopting a wait-and-see brief to see what the act will bring about. Our current model is one of collaboration and that has worked very well.
"I've seen proposals come and go ... but all have failed due to representation issues," he said.
Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters was also quick to quell any talk of a super council.
He said he was aware of the conference, saying he believed it would be used only to inform people how the new legislation would affect the region and the lessons learned in Auckland.
"They will be speaking very generally ... I would be surprised if any details of a super council would be discussed."
He said the region's mayors had a "no surprises" clause in place under the Bay of Plenty Triennial Agreement - which is signed by all the region's mayors - and at their latest meeting on November 29 no discussions were held regarding a unitary authority for the Bay.
"We are sitting back and watching to see how Auckland shakes down ... we are in no hurry.
"I can assure you the Bay of Plenty is not on the Local Government Commission's radar."
