Merging ‘disruptive, expensive’

Amalgamation will be ‘‘disruptive and expensive’’ and will not solve the issues the Queenstown Lakes District faces, its deputy mayor says.

Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Cr Quentin Smith said ‘‘the whole process of amalgamation is disruptive and expensive’’, and the district had other problems on its hands that it should be focusing on.

Cr Smith laid out a series of potential scenarios for the area, including being absorbed into a single unitary council across Otago, or having Queenstown Lakes District and Central Otago District councils merged.

Beyond being an unwelcome disruption, Cr Smith expressed concern with what the changes could mean for Wānaka and the Upper Clutha.

‘‘There has been moves in the past to separate Wānaka and the Upper Clutha into its own council because of the the risks, and the perception, of being the poor cousins to Queenstown.

‘‘I think it would be a further concern if we were the small cousins to the whole of the Otago region, particularly Dunedin and Queenstown,’’ he said.

The MP for Waitaki, National’s Miles Anderson, said New Zealand’s local government system was too complex, too costly, and too hard to navigate.

‘‘We have 78 city and district, regional and unitary councils across the country — a high number for a country of our size.

‘‘It’s now up to our councils to come together for their communities to access what options are best under a more streamlined system,’’ he said.

Mr Anderson said he was aware of concerns in places like Wānaka and Omarama that there was a feeling of being left out when it came to districts having larger centres which could be seen to be receiving larger resourcing and services.

‘‘This is something councils must carefully consider as they choose their shape and scope for the future.’’

Further, Mr Anderson said that there was opportunity for councils or districts to ring-fence assets to ensure they remained within the communities they were attached to.

Earlier this month, the government directed councils to come up with plans to amalgamate.

Minister Chris Bishop said ‘‘our message to councils is simple: lead your own reform, or we will do it for you. Either way, change is coming’’.

Proposals would be considered by government officials against criteria including practicality, simplicity, value for money, effective representation, timeliness and how it works with the new resource management system.

Decisions would be made this year, then developed in detail and signed off in 2027 to be implemented ahead of the 2028 local elections, he said.

evie.sinclair@odt.co.nz