Hawke’s Bay will have fewer councils by 2028. You have my word … backed by a Government guarantee.

The Government issued a blunt ultimatum to local government officials on Tuesday. Step up … or we’ll step in! Here’s how Ministers Simon Watts and Chris Bishop put it:

“There’s strong support for change, but many councils want more flexibility to get on with reform in a way that works for their region … “We’re giving them the opportunity to get on with it through a ‘head start’ pathway.

“But that opportunity won’t sit open forever. If councils don’t step up and put forward credible proposals, the Government will step in and make those decisions.

“Our message to councils is simple: lead your own reform, or we will do it for you. Either way, change is coming.”

The ‘head start’ aspect of this is simply that: “From today, councils have three months to work with others in their region and put forward proposals for how they want to reorganise their local government arrangements.”

Although councils are encouraged to lead their own way, in fact they’ve been instructed to consolidate: “Proposals should focus on creating larger, more efficient unitary authorities that streamline functions, reduce duplication and improve decision-making.”

The Government has set some ground rules for this process:

• The proposing TAs must represent either a majority of the TAs in the region OR a majority of the population in the affected area (the latter would allow Hastings to unite with either Napier or CHB alone);
• Proposals should focus on “Combining regional and local council functions into a single organisation”;
• Regional councils cannot submit proposals; 
• Ministers will decide which proposals will proceed (no public referenda);
• If councils don’t step up, the “Government will step in to ensure reform still happens through a backstop process”.
• New arrangements will be decided in 2027, with changes implemented before the 2028 local body elections (at which point HBRC life support ends).

Reaching the outcome demanded by the Government will pose a major challenge for Hawke’s Bay’s political leadership.

Where our mayors sit

None of our four mayors has advocated a unitary authority (called ‘amalgamation’ by some in HB with long memories)!

That said, a group statement issued Tuesday by our mayors said: “Hawke’s Bay councils have already been working proactively together to explore future options with independent facilitators Wayne Eagleson and Lawrence Yule. This work will continue as more information becomes available.”

“Working proactively” … uh huh!

Here’s what each of our four mayors said to BayBuzz during the 2025 campaigns that got them elected. Sounds like they have some serious ‘walking back’ to do.

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.” 

But here’s what he has also said: “We need an organisation that genuinely represents the whole of Hawke’s Bay … I believe we need to review all the regional governance entities across Hawke’s Bay. I am in the process of bringing the Mayors and Chair together so we can conduct a stocktake and review of these entities, identifying what has worked, what hasn’t, and why. We recognise that not all of what we currently have is effective, and there seem to be too many entities.

“From a Wairoa perspective, we are unique, we want to be part of these regional entities, but we also need to ensure we are getting a return on our investment, and we haven’t seen a lot of that.”

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 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 Wendy Schollum: “I’ve long believed Hawke’s Bay would benefit from a stronger regional voice … 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 Schollum commented to BayBuzz today: “The most recent shared projects – particularly a major IT project – have been deliberately planned to align with the Government’s direction for increased regional collaboration and local government reform.”

That’s nice. But there’s no way more ‘shared services’ is going to cut the reorg mustard with this Government.

These are four mayors who can’t even agree to publicise the content of their formal monthly decision-making meetings (as the Mayoral Forum, including a guest pass for the HBRC Chair), let alone lead the community down the mandated path to major reorganisation.

Actually, they don’t actually need to lead the community anywhere, we’re just expected to take our medicine as prescribed by Government Ministers. Of course, the three-month deadline for reorg plans falls before the Parliamentary election. So we should get a Ministers’ decision on HB’s plan(s) before then, and can thank (or condemn) the Government, including our local MPs, accordingly in November.