When BayBuzz asked councillor and mayoral candidates for their views on amalgamation during the recent local elections, I’m sure many – candidates and voters alike – might have reacted …

Why’s BayBuzz banging on about this issue … it’s been dead and buried for 10 years?!

Until the corpse was exhumed by the Government this past week.

Ministers were extremely careful not to use the ‘A’ word in any of their local government reorganisation announcement materials, but that’s the end-game — unitary authorities — they hope to achieve.

Their proposal to terminate regional councillors outright and ‘invite’ the mayors of each region collectively to come up with reorganisation plans within 24 months (of enabling legislation passing) that would require Minister Of Local Government approval (judged against Minister-created standards), with no local referenda to interfere, has set the stage for potentially major local government restructuring.

I say potentially, because who knows where Mayors Will Foley, Wendy Schollum, Richard McGrath and Craig Little will wind up on the matter.

But, courtesy of their responses to BayBuzz’s election question, I can tell you where they are starting … none is yet ready for the leap to amalgamation! My bet? They’ll stick to ‘shared services’ training wheels, put lipstick on that, and call it reorganisation.

That said, the test they will need to pass will be ‘graded’ by Minister of Local Government Simon Watts. Will he demand an ‘A’? Or will he grade on a curve? Stay tuned!

Here are our four mayors’ campaign responses to the question: Does Hawke’s Bay need five councils, or do you support amalgamation, in any form?

Mayor Will Foley
“Based on my six years of experience on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, I believe that a regional approach to governance can work for certain issues. I would support the amalgamation of Napier and Hastings to create a more unified metropolitan authority. However, I am firmly opposed to the amalgamation of Central Hawke’s Bay into a larger super-city model.

“Our district has its own distinct identity, its own unique challenges, and its own strong sense of community. We need to retain our local governance to ensure our voice is heard and our specific needs are met. We must collaborate with our neighbours and where I see a lot of improvement available to us, but we must also protect our local autonomy.”

Mayor Wendy Schollum
“I’ve long believed Hawke’s Bay would benefit from a stronger regional voice. Back in 2015, when amalgamation first went to referendum, I was running a business in Napier and living in our family home in Hastings. Even then, before I had ever considered entering local politics, I could see how much sense it made for our region to come together.

Cyclone Gabrielle proved it again. When we spoke as one voice, central government listened and millions in funding followed. We’re already moving that way. Hastings provides IT services for other councils, we’ve got the Mātariki Governance Group driving shared economic development projects, and water reform and building consenting are potentially shifting to regional entities. It’s fair to ask why we still need five separate councils.

But here’s the key: any move toward amalgamation must be staged, and it must protect our local voice. One strong regional council can deliver infrastructure and advocacy better, but communities still need a say in the decisions closest to them.

As Mayor, I’ll back practical regionalisation that reduces duplication, while making sure Hastings people keep the local representation they deserve. One voice where it makes sense, local voice where it matters.”

Mayor Richard McGrath
“I do not support amalgamation, it certainly hasn’t fixed the problems in Auckland, their rates still go up and I believe they have more staff now than when it was 5 councils, Wellington Water is another example of bigger not necessarily being better. Regional set ups haven’t worked well for us, think Buses, Hospitals, Civil Defence during the cyclone. Talking amalgamation is just a polarizing distraction from everyone getting on and doing their jobs.”

Mayor Craig Little
“Wairoa has seen the impacts of the erosion of services and centralisation, and it has not been kind to us. Our isolation means one local authority for the whole of Hawke’s Bay would not serve us well. A sad but good example of this is Wairoa’s continued battle to be heard at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council table.”