Ruapehu District Council has announced it will not submit a unitary authority amalgamation proposal under the Government’s Simplifying Local Government ‘Head Start’ pathway.
The Government invited councils to submit proposals by 9 August for new unitary authority arrangements that would combine district and regional council functions into a single council.
As no proposal will be submitted, Ruapehu District Council will now move into the Government’s ‘Back Stop’ process, Mayor Weston Kirton confirmed.
Mayor Kirton said there remained significant uncertainty about what happens next with both the Head Start and Back Stop pathways.
“Council has spent the past three months talking with the community, iwi partners and neighbouring councils about what local government reform could look like for Ruapehu,” he said.
“When the Head Start pathway was first announced, I believed putting forward a proposal would give Ruapehu the best opportunity to influence its future.
“However, those discussions have highlighted just how complex the issues are and how many different perspectives need to be considered.”
Mayor Kirton said he wanted to thank the public for engaging with the process and raising the wide range of factors they wanted reflected in any future council structure which will help inform future discussions.
“People talked about access to health services, river catchments, iwi boundaries, links to the maunga, economic connections, communities of interest, and even whether different parts of the district should align with different regions. There was no single option that clearly stood out.”
Ultimately, due to the short timeframe, no neighbouring council chose to develop a joint unitary authority proposal with Ruapehu, he said.
The Mayor said Council will inform the Minister of Local Government that it remains committed to local government reform and will continue working on future options, subject to further engagement with the community, iwi partners and any formal consultation required.
Council also agreed to sign a joint regional letter to the Minister, with Horizons councils signalling their intention to work together on a locally led process to explore regional, sub-regional and cross-boundary options.
“While the Back Stop was ultimately our only option, we believe it’s also the best one. It gives us the time and space to work through the issues properly with everyone involved,” said Mayor Kirton.
“While the details of the Back Stop process are still being developed, Ministers have indicated they intend to work with affected councils to develop arrangements that suit each region while still meeting the Government’s reform objectives.”
Mayor Kirton said it was also important for people to understand that the final decision rests with central Government.
“Council will continue advocating for the outcome that best serves Ruapehu, but ultimately any decisions about the future structure of local government will be made by the Government,” he said.
