Amalgamation debate: Goals still on table

Tukituki MP Craig Foss

Tukituki MP Craig Foss says he is still championing regional goals that the four mayors and the regional chairman agreed to last year.

After a meeting of the Intesector Leadership Group (ILG) Mr Foss released a plan last December that set out "measurable economic and social targets" as far out as 2025.

He said at the time, Craig Little, Bill Dalton, Lawrence Yule and Peter Butler - the mayors of Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and Central Hawkes Bay - and Fenton Wilson, the Regional Council chairman had agreed to his proposal.

Yesterday, the MP said that these were targets the central government was already working towards. "So let's try and find a local context for them that we can all drive together towards together," he said.

"One council or five councils let's all just get on the same page. We all keep talking about job growth, economic viability, lower crime, safer roads, it is not much harder than that." While nothing has been raised at an ILG meeting since, the MP said the idea was "still on the table".

"Regardless of how the vote goes we should still try and drive towards them," said Mr Foss.

Mr Foss said while the idea was raised during the debate on amalgamation - they were agreed to long before any date for a vote was set.