Could there be a new Super City? It seems momentum may be building for Wellington City Council to become one with the two Hutt Valley councils, Porirua City Council and the regional council. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Momentum is building for a long-debated merger of Wellington’s councils, with fresh signals of bipartisan parliamentary support, recent polling showing the public on-side and local leaders eager to thrash out the details of an amalgamation plan they say is “inevitable”.
The idea of merging the region’s nine councils into a single entity last fell through in 2015, but much has changed since then and calls continue to intensify for a scaled-down merger of Wellington City Council, the two Hutt Valley councils, Porirua City Council and the regional council.
In a non-binding referendum posed 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 results saw 17,429 voters in support, while 14,283 were opposed.
In Porirua, the only other council to pose the question, 9581 said yes while 7399 said no.
Mayors-elect across the region have already stated their intention to work towards joining forces.
Andrew Little said just minutes after announcing his win that amalgamation is a discussion that Wellingtonians need to have this term.
Days later, the majority of the incoming mayors concerned expressed support when asked about the issue on Newstalk ZB.
Incoming Lower Hutt Mayor Ken Laban told listeners it was “inevitable”.
Re-elected Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said people want change and committed to pushing for it this term.
“We all need the same rules,” Baker said, arguing streamlining services was the only way to bring down rates.
Upper Hutt’s Peri Zee was non-committal, saying there was little point in having the conversation until there is bipartisan support in Parliament for it.
But that support may have been found, with Local Government Minister Simon Watts saying he would welcome the change and is considering how to make it easier for councils, while Labour leader Chris Hipkins has also come out in support, despite previous opposition.
“I welcome locally led council reorganisations, particularly if they deliver benefits to ratepayers, such as savings through shared services and better aligned long-term strategy,” Watts said.
“I’ve heard through the sector that locally led reorganisations can be difficult to achieve, so I am considering options on how the process could be made easier,” the minister said.
Watts revealed he has sought advice from the Department of Internal Affairs on the process for reorganisations, after hearing of difficulties in the process from the sector.
“I am interested in Wellington’s next steps and will request and consider advice if that is necessary.”
Council officials have also expressed a desire for a merger.
In Wellington City Council’s pre-election report, new CEO Matt Prosser said discussions around amalgamation would be “welcome” and would likely happen this term.
Prosser said a merger could help the affordability challenges faced by councils around the country.
Hutt City Council CEO Jo Miller also wrote in her pre-election report that local government in its current form is financially unsustainable beyond the short to medium term, and amalgamation discussions are starting to occur.
While local leaders are preparing to thrash out a potential super-city-type arrangement, the Prime Minister has also signalled his support for a major shake-up to local government, which could act as a catalyst for reorganisation in Wellington.
Christopher Luxon recently said he wants to look into scrapping New Zealand’s regional councils as part of the Government’s Resource Management Act reforms.
“I think we’ve got too many layers of government, frankly, if I’m honest with you, whether it’s district councils, regional councils, central Government,” Luxon told Newstalk ZB in June.
The idea is also supported by New Zealand First, with deputy leader Shane Jones telling a local government forum in June the party does not see a compelling case for maintaining regional government.
But one elected member of Wellington’s regional council said the Prime Minister’s view is “based on an absolute lack of understanding of local government” and said amalgamation will not happen if local leaders cannot get their act together.
Daran Ponter, who has been re-elected to Greater Wellington Regional Council after a term as chairman, said the region is “no better organised today than it was three years ago”.
“Work has been going on in the background on reorganisation, conversations did start about two-and-a-half years ago, certainly amongst mayors, but there was no consensus,” Ponter said.
The Herald reported early last year that the region’s civic leaders had secured a meeting with ministers to discuss amalgamation through the vehicle of a regional deal with central government.
Those discussions appeared to have stalled, with Wellington leaders deciding not to put their hand up for a deal.
The fallout from no deal proposal being put forward saw Luxon blast the region’s councils as “pretty lame-o” and later became the motivating factor for Little to run for the mayoralty.
Ponter said while there is a “keenness” for amalgamation, it is not a straightforward process and there is still plenty of work that must first be done to deliver a credible proposal.
Conversations on amalgamation, Ponter said, would be on the agenda of the Wellington Mayoral Forum, which is likely to meet with the region’s new mayors next month.
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.