The Government announced today it will take additional time before deciding which Head Start local government reform proposals should progress to detailed design.
Mayor Mahé says Tauranga City Council and other councils across New Zealand invested significant time, effort and resources into developing proposals under an extremely compressed timeframe, with many regions working collaboratively to identify how local government could better meet future challenges.
"It is disappointing that the Government hasn't decided to progress any Head Start proposals at this stage, after the hard work done by many councils to meet a very tight and rushed timeframe. It is frustrating that we reprioritised and did everything the Government asked in an unrealistic timeframe imposed by them and are now being told to stop until they sort themselves out,” he says.
"Had we been given a more realistic timeframe of six to twelve months, proposals could have answered a number of issues identified through the analysis and given us a greater opportunity to engage with our communities, supported by more robust evidence."
Mayor Mahé says while today's announcement is a setback, the engagement Tauranga City Council undertook with the business community, iwi and residents leading up to the 9 August deadline for Head Start proposals showed there is strong local support for change, and he remains committed to acting on that.
"Around 80 per cent of respondents to our council's survey on local government reform supported neighbouring councils working together to help shape the region's future, rather than having change imposed by central government.
"We also saw strong support for reducing the number of councils if it delivered more efficient services, simpler governance and better value for ratepayers.
"That feedback showed people understand the challenges local government is facing and are open to change if it delivers better outcomes for communities and better value for ratepayers. It's important we continue to act on that feedback."
Mayor Mahé says he will continue working constructively with the new Government and local government leaders to build on the progress made through the Head Start process so far.
“While this delay is frustrating, the engagement with our communities and conversations with other Councils has delivered a strong mandate for change across the region. We want to continue that so hope this work isn’t ultimately wasted, and we are given the opportunity to progress reform by the 2028 local body elections,” says Mayor Mahé.
"We’re looking forward to working with the new Government once elected to identify a pathway forward that enables willing regions to continue designing local government structures that better meet the needs of their communities and can still be implemented from 2028, including integrating Regional Council functions."