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HB merger final proposal a pretend solution

A single Hawke’s Bay council pretends to be the solution to alleged economic under-performance but will only create another level of costly, inefficient government, Hastings Against Amalgamation spokesman Mike Butler said today.

After months of dithering, the Local Government Commission today released a final proposal for a single council with five local boards and a Maori board, with the headquarters in Napier despite our survey in March that showed 63 percent region-wide opposition, Mr Butler said.

A region-wide vote is needed, and residents in the four regions have 60 days to get together signatures of 10 percent of an affected district to petition for a vote.

That would require around 800 signatures in Wairoa or 5100 signatures in Hastings, Mr Butler said.

The pro-amalgamation lobby has had years to formulate coherent arguments to demonstrate the need for amalgamation and all they have come up with were bumper-sticker slogans that don’t withstand scrutiny, Mr Butler said.

Their basic argument is that an amalgamated council is needed for economic development but we have had 175 years of economic development here irrespective of council structure, Mr Butler said..

Discussion about a Maori board has disappeared from debate and there are serious questions about regional governance including appointees to represent a handful of entities created by the treaty settlement process, Mr Butler said.

We cannot let this unitary council slide into existence without regional support. Look what happened in Auckland. We must collect signatures and put it to a vote, Mr Butler said.

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