Investigation into potential council merger confirmed
“There’s definitely a need for change in local government in Southland."
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The Local Government Commission has confirmed they will investigate the prospect of a merger of councils in Southland.
Southland District Mayor Rob Scott made the proposal in August last year to reorganise local government in Southland into two unitary authorities – one rural based and one for Invercargill city.
Southland District Council then decided to progress the suggestion by lodging a formal proposal with the Local Government Commission (LGC).
The commission consulted with Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council and Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland), as the local authorities that would be affected by the reorganisation initiative, before deciding whether to undertake an investigation.
LGC also engaged with Te Ao Mārama Incorporated, on behalf of Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku.
The commission announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to undertake an investigation, in relation to the Southland District Council’s reorganisation initiative.
Mayor Scott said he was pleased the Local Government Commission had seen merit in the proposal.
“There’s definitely a need for change in local government in Southland,” he said.
“The people of Southland deserve relevant representation that is connected to their communities and is efficient and affordable.
“I’m looking forward to working with the commission over the coming months.”
The commission said in its announcement the initiative sets out potential benefits for the Southland region, and some concerns of the other affected councils may be able to be addressed in design of an investigation process.
“Each council and Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku will have the opportunity to feed into development of the investigation process document, which may assist in allaying some concerns,” the LGC decision said.
“On balance, there is sufficient potential to improve local government in the Southland region to justify the commission deciding to undertake a reorganisation investigation.”
Environment Southland has welcomed the Local Government Commission’s (LGC) investigation.
“Any proposals that benefit Southlanders are worth exploring,” Environment Southland Chairman Nicol Horrell said.
“We are pleased that the LGC has taken on our suggestion of exploring other possible options for governance, including having one unitary council for the region.
“It’s important that we find the best outcome for the region and not be tied into a single approach at this stage.”
Gore District Council has publicly stated it was not keen Scott’s proposal of two unitary authorities – one rural based and one for Invercargill city.
Gore Mayor Ben Bell believed a much larger amalgamation plan would be needed to justify the considerable cost that an amalgamation would require.
Additionally, the Gore District Council stated it did not have additional capacity to contribute staff resource to an investigation, with staff already under pressure as they work through the shared waters entity transition.
Why does no one other than me react strongly to these plans to DEPRIVE ALL 58,000 of us from any democratic voice over the Southland environment !! How come no one’s noticed the proposal is for RURAL southlanders ONLY to manage environment Southland!! How come no one else is appalled we get only to manage the Otepuni Creek and Invercargill estuary under SDCs merger proposal . HELLO HELLO anyone out there who cares about this ???????