Early talks have begun for a major merger of Wellington's councils. Photo / 123rf
Early talks have begun for a major merger of Wellington's councils. Photo / 123rf
Mayors across Wellington and Wairarapa have taken the first step towards a major merger of the region’s councils into a potential super city.
The Wellington Mayoral Forum, now chaired by Wellington Mayor Andrew Little, met in Wairarapa last week and has today announced it has officially “agreed to work togetheron options for amalgamation in the region”.
Some of the region’s mayors have already met with ministers to discuss amalgamation plans.
The mayors say the next steps will be going back to their respective councils in the new year to seek a mandate for exploring amalgamation, before engaging with the Government and the Opposition.
They will then set up a project team to coordinate the work and consult with the public.
The forum is made up of the mayors of Wellington City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City, Porirua City, Kapiti Coast District, South Wairarapa District, Carterton and Masterton, as well as the chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council.
It comes off the back of an announcement that regional councillors will be abolished under proposed Government reforms.
Ratepayers in the region appear to be on board with amalgamation, according to a non-binding referendum posed in two cities as part of the recent local elections.
A majority of Lower Hutt voters supported their council exploring amalgamation with Wellington City Council, Upper Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council.
The tally showed 17,429 voters were in support, while 14,283 were opposed.
In Porirua, the only other council to pose the question, 9581 said yes while 7399 said no.
The idea of merging the nine councils into a single entity last fell through in 2015.
“We’ve seen many announcements from the Beehive recently about reorganising local government, from the proposed replacement of regional councillors with mayors, to prohibiting referenda, to rates caps, to RMA [Resource Management Act] reform,” Little said in a statement today.
“We already share a number of services regionally, including water and public transport. More can be done, which is why mayors are jointly committed to getting on with a plan to see what is workable.”
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little. Photo / Mark Mitchell
South Wairarapa Mayor Dame Fran Wilde, the forum’s deputy chair, said it makes sense to share services and take the lead on options for its future.
“That could mean more use of shared services or some amalgamation in Wairarapa and some amalgamation in Wellington. It’s an issue we haven’t looked at in a decade and now is the time.”
The project does not mean amalgamation is guaranteed, and does not necessarily mean a super city-type arrangement is the most likely.
Smaller amalgamations could result, like a Wellington metro council of Wellington City, the Hutt Valley councils, and Porirua joining forces separate to Wairarapa.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
