Southland district mayor Rob Scott says he is “stoked” the Local Government Commission is investigating his audacious proposal to combine Southland’s four councils.
In August last year Scott went public with his vision for amalgamation, claiming it would save money, improve efficiency and reduce complexity.
On Monday, the Local Government Commission (LGC) announced it would investigate a potential reorganisation of Southland District Council, Gore District Council, Invercargill City Council and Environment Southland.
Scott said LGC’s decision was a good move for the people of Southland.
“It’s been an experience, and it’s going to continue to be an experience. But it’s a positive one, and when you’ve got the eye on the prize and the positive outcome for our people at the end, it can only be good."
The proposal would see the four councils shrink down to two authorities - Environment Southland would dissolve, Invercargill City Council would become a unitary authority with regional council powers, and the two district councils would combine into a single authority with added regional council powers.
Gore mayor Ben Bell previously feared the proposal was selling the community “hugs and rainbows”, but was happy with what he’d seen from LGC.
“They’ve done a really good job of trying to satisfy all of the different concerns."
Bell's only worry was that LGC needed council resources to help with the investigation, which he said could lead to difficult conversations with the commission and ratepayers.
“We’ve made it very clear we don’t have any extra resource to contribute.”
Environment Southland chair Nicol Horrell also supported the investigation, saying the status quo was no longer fit for purpose.
Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark could not be reached for comment.
The commission said it would not limit its investigation to the proposed dual-authority model - a move welcomed by Bell and Horrell.
Before making the decision to investigate, the commission consulted with the four councils and engaged with Te Ao Mārama Incorporated, on behalf of Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku.
Te Ao Mārama is the iwi liaison entity representing Southland's four rūnanga for resource management and local government issues.
A LGC advisor said the investigation was expected to take at least 12 months.
Southland has been governed by four councils since 1989.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
