The mayors for the communities of Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne have responded to the recent release of The Future for Local Government report - He piki tūranga, he piki kotuku, noting the need to ensure communities stay at the centre of the coming changes in the local sector.

Ōpōtiki Mayor, David Moore, said that he was always keen to see new ways of facing the current and future challenges in local government, particularly how to fund the complex and growing responsibilities of councils around Aotearoa.

“It is always heathy to look at challenges with new ideas and new ways of tackling them and the report certainly covers a lot of ground and offers some solid recommendations.

“I feel the three Eastern Bay Councils are already implementing and building on many of the recommendations, however funding should not be the sole burden of the ratepayers and solutions need to be affordable for this generation and future ones. I also think that we need to ensure we stay grounded in our local communities through any changes.

“Add to that, we are in a real period of flux for the sector and a difficult time to get clarity on how all the moving parts work together,” Mayor Moore said.

Whakatāne District Mayor Dr Victor Luca agrees, saying the reforms are out of sync.

“We’re still navigating three waters reform, we’ve been putting lots of time and effort into engaging with RMA Reform and health is in the mix. Surely Future for Local Government should have been the first cab off the rank.”

“I’m pleased to see a recognition of the infrastructure funding deficit and addressing that with potentially more direct central government funding to Councils. I need to see how that will happen however.”

Kawerau Mayor, Faylene Tunui also drew attention to the wider picture and a need for grassroots understanding of how local government works for them.

“Our Council is committed to doing better in the way we work alongside our Tangata Whenua Iwi and we will be sending this report to Ngāti Tūwharetoa Chairs and Chief Executives so we have the same information at the same time. We will also share a link to this report with our community on our website so our people can receive these recommendations from the independent panel.

“The report that’s been released, isn’t just a future for local government review, but actually, a future for ‘Local Communities’ review - as councils exist to serve and represent their communities,” Kawerau Mayor Faylene Tunui said.

The final report and significant background into the review is available at www.futureforlocalgovernment.govt.nz

The Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty has signalled that now is the time for councils to digest the report and the next steps will be considered after the general election.

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