Council amalgamation deadline looms with many regions nowhere near ready
With just two weeks until the 9 August deadline, most non-Auckland councils have failed to agree on merger plans, risking government intervention.
The government ordered non-Auckland councils to develop amalgamation plans by 9 August or face imposed solutions. While some regions like Hawke's Bay and Northland are on track with single-council proposals, others are in crisis: Wellington faces holdouts, Christchurch has five competing options with Selwyn reluctant to take on city debt, and Otago's councils cannot agree. Regions like Nelson-Tasman, Southland, Taranaki and Horizons are described as in absolute shambles, with the most fundamental divide being between towns and rural areas.
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The Spinoff
Who’s going to make the council amalgamation deadline? And what happens to those that don’t
With just over a fortnight until the deadline, the question is no longer whether all regions will meet it, but whether ministers will impose their own solutions on the regions that don’t, writes Henry Oliver in today’s excerpt from The…
The Spinoff
Council amalgamation: Who’s working together and who is refusing to budge?
The government ordered neighbouring councils to team up and develop a plan, but some are too busy throwing their toys. When ministers Simon Watts and Chris Bishop announced in May that every non-Auckland council would have three months to develop…
1News
'A giant dating game': Where councils stand as merger deadline looms
Some districts are close to a deal. Others have walked away entirely. Here's where every part of the country stands with two weeks to go.
Otago Daily Times