Kāpiti political analyst Gwynn Compton says Wellington local government amalgamation has implications for Kāpiti regardless of whether we’re in or out of a hypothetical regional entity.
“Being a Kāpiti resident, a long-standing advocate for local government reorganisation, and seeing how both Hutt City and Porirua are holding non-binding referendums on investigating it, I thought I’d extend the opportunity for Kāpiti’s six mayoral candidates to share their views on the issue,” says Mr Compton who runs [email protected].
Mr Compton says Kim Hobson, Janet Holborow, Liz Koh, Dean Harris, Martin Halliday, and Rob McCann were asked to provide 200 words in response to the following question:
“As a Kāpiti Coast mayoral candidate, what role do you think Kāpiti should have in any future local government amalgamation with other councils in the Wellington region?”
“The three responses provided by the deadline are presented verbatim below in the order in which they were received.”
Janet Holborow (Incumbent)
Amalgamation is an issue which has been floating around for years, most notably with the costly and failed attempt made in 2015.
So what did we learn from that experience? In my view it showed that people in power can propose amalgamation but it’s the community who should decide, and almost without exception, their answer is a resounding “no”.
So why is that? It’s because communities want to retain their local voice and influence. It’s because people want to maintain what makes their place unique. It’s because people know that the more centralised decision-making becomes, the less their voices are heard.
Kāpiti is in a strong position. Our infrastructure and finances are strong. We decided not to amalgamate our water, and we don’t want to amalgamate anything else.
Let’s keep our local voice. Let’s keep our local culture and heritage. Let’s keep our ability to work together with our local mana Whenua.
Instead of embarking on a costly exercise to amalgamate Councils, let’s keep working with our neighbours to the north and to the south to see how we can support each other, and work together for the benefit of all.
Rob McCann
Amalgamation might sound efficient on paper, but for Kāpiti it risks undermining both our identity and our ability to make decisions that reflect local needs.
Bigger councils often mean more bureaucracy, not less, and communities like ours become just one small voice in a much larger system dominated by Wellington City’s priorities.
Local issues, whether it’s coastal erosion, housing intensification, or infrastructure upgrades in our townships, could be sidelined in favour of projects with higher political or economic weight elsewhere in the region.
Cost savings are often promised in amalgamation debates, but the reality across New Zealand shows these rarely materialise. Instead, ratepayers can end up paying more for a council that is more distant and less responsive. Kāpiti already faces serious concerns about affordability with rate rises of over 30% in three years under the current Mayor. Amalgamation may compound those risks.
Transmission Gully has certainly brought us closer to Wellington, but stronger transport links don’t mean our governance should be absorbed.
Our cultural, social, and environmental challenges are unique, and we need a council focused squarely on them.
In short, amalgamation could strip Kāpiti of local voice, accountability, and agility, leaving residents worse off than they are now.
Martin Halliday
I wasn’t aware of this as a topic, It hasn’t been brought to the Council table for discussion.
There would need to be a strong case for Kāpiti to consider amalgamation in my opinion. Through our 3 waters work, it was very apparent that Kāpiti is in a stronger position than other Local Councils. Funding is always the challenge, but I could see Kāpiti being an afterthought and potentially cross subsidising other Councils.
Another consideration is whether Kāpiti should become a Unitary Council in its own right, which I am campaigning on. Kāpiti should be involved in the conversations.
Mr Compton says “First, I want to thank Janet, Rob, and Martin (who I each know from my triennium on Kāpiti Coast District Council) for taking the time to share their views.
“Even though I’m an advocate for regional amalgamation, the perspectives they’ve provided are perfectly reasonable and defensible. They reflect a healthy and understandable scepticism in our community about amalgamation proposals. Being part of, or separate to, a regional entity is going to involve trade-offs.
“Finally, while it’s unfortunate that our three other mayoral candidates Kim Hobson, Liz Koh, and Dean Harris weren’t able to find the time to respond, I appreciate that the closing weeks of the campaign are hectic and things like this can get lost in the noise. I hope that if they read this they decide to share their views on amalgamation with our community through their own communication channels,” says Mr Compton.