Warning on Waikato Supercity Plans

Any future proposal to create a regionwide supercity council for the entire Waikato would be “dead on arrival with no chance of ultimate implementation,” according to Coromandel local government reform advocates.

The Campaign for a Unitary Coromandel Council issued its warning in the wake of plans unveiled last week to form a single Auckland-style council to govern the entire Greater Wellington and Wairarapa region. It said any similar all-Waikato plan would be a step backward for local democracy and would fail to reflect public opinion on preferred options for change.

The Coromandel group also renewed its call for creation of a unitary council in the Eastern Waikato to replace the current two-tier, district plus regional council system. The Campaign has endorsed steps by Thames-Coromandel District Council to explore the potential benefits and costs of streamlined, single-tier local government for the peninsula, possibly including neighbouring Thames Valley and eastern seaboard communities.

According to Campaign spokesperson Reihana Robinson, “the Coromandel and its neighbours are geographically and economically separate from the rest of the so-called Waikato region and comprise a natural, well-defined community of interests. Our planning, policies, and resource allocation should be based on the needs and priorities of our own communities, not the agenda menu and pet projects of urban-focused planners hours away in Hamilton and the western Waikato.”

“The Auckland-Wellington supercity model would be a disaster for the Coromandel and nearby Thames Valley communities,” Robinson said.

“The Coromandel has enough experience as a rates mine to fund velodromes, Lake Taupo cleanup, and a raft of other projects and spending that benefit only the Hamilton-SH1-Waikato River corridor,” she said.

“What we are seeking is local government by the Coromandel and for the Coromandel -- with plans, policies and sustained economic support for the aspirations of our small and unique region. Our future should be in the hands of those who live, holiday, work and raise families here.”

In late 2012 and early 2013, the Campaign presented over 1,500 local petition signatures to TCDC seeking formation of a unitary council for the peninsula. Petitioners from all major settlements in the district cited increased council accountability, more appropriate policy development, enhanced democratic involvement, cost-efficiencies, and local application of all rates dollars as primary objectives of the unitary council drive.

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