Up to the public: Referendum required if council merger proceeds

The Southland District Mayor has proposed a significant shakeup to local government by suggesting a merger of the four existing Southland Councils into two unitary authorities.

Mayor Rob Scott claims the amalgamation could see savings of $10m each year by improving cost efficiencies and reducing duplication across neighbouring councils.

Local Government Campaigns manager for the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, Sam Warren, said:

“We’ve seen across local government that bigger doesn’t always mean better. The evidence across the country shows that size isn’t a reliable indicator of the cost of running a council, what we really need is councillors making sure they run a tight ship.

“It may be the case that there are some areas where economies of scale could be found. In those instances the question should be what services to amalgamate rather than diving in head first to full amalgamation of all four councils.

“Central to any amalgamation proposal must be local voice. It is important for Southlanders to be consulted on such significant changes to their structure of local government and be persuaded whether or not any cost savings will actually be realised.”