The Otago Regional Council will prepare a whole-of-council submission on the Government’s proposed local government reforms, which could see regional councillors removed as early as next year.

The Government’s Simplifying Local Government proposal proposes all elected regional councillors be replaced by a Combined Territories Board (CTB), made up of Mayors or Crown Commissioners.

Cr Michael Laws said regional councils and regional councillors were still in a state of shock about the proposals announced in late November.

“Many of us won’t have jobs next year, none of us will I suspect, we won’t be here, we won’t exist…” he said before adding that it was a good idea to have some collective views on the issues.

Cr Neil Gillespie suggested they work with territorial authorities to get the best understanding.

But chief executive Richard Saunders told the meeting it would be difficult to get a joint formal submission signed off with other councils before the February 20 deadline.

However, there were ongoing discussions with Mayors and chairs encouraging that they shared submission points in understanding the other councils across Otago.

Councillors supported the whole-of-council submission process, and would attend a briefing workshop in early January to identify priority issues for staff to prepare a full council submission. 

The motion was led by former chair Gretchen Robertson who said they needed to show some regional leadership “and do it now.”

“This is a key, most important issue that is facing us and our region at the moment.”

She said it not only affected all councils but local democracy across New Zealand.

Gretchen reminded the meeting that Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has been asking for a reform and review for a really long time, “so hey we are up for it.”

“We must shift the destructive narrative - it does not serve Otago and it does not serve New Zealand.”

She suggested the submission should focus on transitioning the ORC rather than getting rid of it, “we are the solution, not the problem and we need to be in that tent. I’m sick of the negativity around it.”

Cr Gary Kelliher looked at the issue slightly differently. “We are the problem and that’s why the Government is taking action. The Government has stepped in and said, ‘we want something different.’”

Michael believes that regional councils have “run their course” and is strongly in favour of unitary authorities, saying the model had worked at six other regions across New Zealand, including Gisborne.

“Nobody’s going to die in a ditch to save regional councillors…we have created a rod for our own backs in some ways, through the way in which we acted in our last council, and the defiance of Government direction was used repeatedly by senior politicians responsible for this reform.

“We need to take some collective responsibility for that and how are we going to transition to a new local Government structure."

Councillors will meet to discuss the issues further at a workshop in mid-January, and staff will progress work on the submission, ready for the February 20 deadline.

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