“I feel like local government has become their punching bag,” she said.
“It’s not appropriate, because we have to work together to deliver everything for our communities.
“Then, there are questions about the future of regional councils being thrown around randomly. There is no actual plan, as far as I can see.”
Last month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in his personal view, disestablishing regional councils was something the government could explore as part of Resource Management Act legislation led by Chris Bishop.
NZ First Minister Shane Jones told a local government forum in June that his party does not see a compelling case for maintaining regional government.
Keedwell said those comments – “ just throwing out ideas” – created uncertainty for the council and its staff.
“Why would people put their name forward for this work when they don’t know if it’s even going to exist?
“All our functions still need to be done, you can’t walk away from them.”
She said climate change was now at the centre of all work the council did, and there had been significant investment in biodiversity during her tenure.
“We’ve built great relationships, and always growing, in the iwi-Māori space.
“It feels like a different council from what it was when I first came on board.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of, that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Keedwell said it was hard to convey to the public the complexity of regional councils’ role.
Horizons Regional Council’s responsibilities include managing and protecting freshwater resources, regional land transport planning, and coordinating natural disaster response.
“Passenger transport is another area where we’ve made great strides, and it’s continuing to grow,” she said.
Horizons councillors voted to keep $400,000 in its 2025/26 budget for Whanganui public transport despite no matched funding from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
Whanganui-based Horizons councillor Alan Taylor said Keedwell had been an excellent chair.
“She has done a huge amount, both for the mana of the organisation and for the whole concept of regional government,” he said.
Keedwell said Horizons was ready for the future, rather than “being dragged, kicking and screaming”.
“It was dependent on having a progressive council sitting around the table with me.
“I’m equally grateful to those councillors who have seen fit to move us in this direction.”
Keedwell said Luxon delivered a pre-recorded message at last week’s Local Government New Zealand conference in Christchurch.
“He didn’t turn up, and that’s fine, calendars don’t always work, but not once did he acknowledge the expertise and commitment in the room he was talking to.
“We [councils] are expected to do more and more, with the same amount of money or less.”
She said there needed to be a conversation about “governance of New Zealand as a whole”.
“All of the services across central and local government, are they being delivered in the best way possible? And in the most cost-effective way?
“I think local government needs to push back a bit harder.
“The functions we carry out are really important.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
