There has been a lot of talk about amalgamation of local councils recently, and there are good reasons for this. Amalgamation would bring reduced costs for the region over time.
With a quarter of a million citizens, the region would have a stronger and more united voice with central government.
Collectively we would be in a better position to attract and retain highly talented staff.
And for those who wish to see the end of regional councils, an amalgamated council would be large enough to credibly take over the roles of the regional council if that is the Government’s intention.
All of these are strong reasons for us to consider amalgamation. But the critical reason is that if we don’t, we will fail to take full advantage of the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead for the region.
If this region is to make the best of the opportunities ahead, the amalgamation of at least Waipa, Waikato and Hamilton is essential.
The population of the inner Waikato will more or less double in the next 30-50 years. That means we need to start to provide homes, services and infrastructure for more than 200,000 extra people. That sort of growth can be an opportunity to enhance our quality of life or, if badly managed, it can destroy our quality of life. If planning is carried out by three separate councils with three different sets of rules and three different rating systems we will fail.
Some people have called on central government to step in and make the decision for our local communities because they believe current councillors are unable to give leadership on this issue. I have no doubt that councillors can give leadership on this issue and that we will get a better outcome if they do. But time is running out. If councils do not take up the challenge in the next few months they will have defaulted to a central government response that is almost certain to come after the next general election.
I hope we can avoid having to go through the pain and conflict that we have all seen in Auckland, where even if the outcome is the right one the process itself has unquestionably left significant scars on the communities involved.
