A Better Hawke’s Bay lodges petition seeking vote on amalgamation

A Better Hawke’s Bay has today lodged a petition with the Local Government Commission calling for a region-wide poll to happen on the Local Government Commission’s final proposal to amalgamate Hawke’s Bays five councils into one.

“We wanted to ensure that the people of Hawke’s Bay could exercise their democratic right to vote on this very important subject,” says Rebecca Turner, Chairman of A Better Hawke’s Bay. “We believe that amalgamating the councils is the best thing for the region and the people of Hawke’s Bay will vote yes when the time comes. Ensuring that good information is out there so people can fully understand the benefits of amalgamation will be our focus.

“One council will mean we can stop the constant duplication, in-fighting and waste of our ratepayer funds and focus on growing the region and ensure Hawke’s Bay residents get the best possible co-ordinated council services.

“Under the rules 10% of eligible voters in an affected region can sign a petition to trigger a poll. As there are only a few people in the affected part of Rangitikei it made it more efficient and simple to get them to sign a petition, this saved time and money for us all rather than trying for a petition in larger, urban regions.

“The people of Hawke’s Bay have been calling for a poll on this issue for a long-time. We now have the petition and we just need the Local Government Commission to set a poll date.

“I would like to thank those other groups that have reached out wanting to work together on a petition,” Ms Turner said.

ENDS

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