Regional councillors at loggerheads

AGAINST: Greater Wellington Regional Council Wairarapa representative Gary McPhee voted to withdraw support for the super-city.PHOTO/FILE

A major rift has developed between councillors on the Greater Wellington Regional Council, which has been gunning for a super city.

At a meeting on Wednesday, six councillors, including Wairarapa councillor Gary McPhee, backed a proposal to withdraw the council's support for the super-city.

Upper Hutt representative Paul Swain's proposal, prompted by a Nielsen survey which found 26 per cent of people were opposed to the merger, was narrowly defeated in a vote by seven to six.

All over the region, councils are preparing their formal submissions to the Local Government Commission, which is proposing to amalgamate all nine councils and establish eight local boards.

Mr McPhee said the survey was "only a snapshot" but it did show opposition.

People did not want a super-city and councillors had to support their constituencies, he said.

"I think a super-city is a bridge too far.

"I'm against it, I think what will happen is it will go to a poll and go to the status quo."

He believed the three Wairarapa territorial authorities would then approach the commission to form one Wairarapa council while still retaining the GWRC.

Mr McPhee said under the proposed two-tier model, local boards would not have much power. "The local boards are still subservient to the government body, they don't have the ability to raise rates."

He said there would only be two Wairarapa councillors out of 21 in a super-city council. "People on the other side of the hill will have constituents pushing them for what they want."

Those in the metro and urban areas had a different mind set, he said. "We are a different animal, we are rural."

Mr McPhee said he believed Wairarapa was similar to Rodney, which is now part of the Auckland super-city council. Rodney has the highest proportion of unsealed roads in the Auckland region and its local board is campaigning to see a bigger share of rates spent on sealing.