New call for one council in region

Monday, 8 July 2024

Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ali Boswijk, left, with Finance Minister Nicola Willis at the chamber’s Aspire conference where she made a case for renewing the debate over amalgamating the region’s councils.

The Nelson Tasman region cannot afford the ongoing costs of having two separate councils when rates are under increasing pressure, a business leader says.

The Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ali Boswijk has made a case to “reignite a conversation” about amalgamating the Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council.

She told an audience, including business and council leaders, at the chamber’s Aspire conference on Friday that it had long held the view that the region would be better served with one council.

“However, we have seen that a clumsy process does nothing better than have everyone running to their corners, and any sense of middle ground gets lost.”

The Saxton Field sporting complex is jointly managed by the Nelson and Tasman councils.

A 2012 referendum on amalgamating the two councils was supported by 57% of Nelson voters, but opposed by 74% of those who voted in Tasman. Boswijk said a factor in the Tasman opposition was a perception of a Nelson “takeover bid”, and concerns about representation and debt.

She said those issues would need to be addressed in any new reorganisation proposal. The discussion needed to involve the councils but not be led by them, and done in a way that set it up for success rather than galvanising immediate opposition, she said.

“Do we want to join the waka together? Or keep paddling our individual courses?”

Boswijk said the councils shared services in areas such as emergency management, public transport, and waste management. The port and airport were jointly owned and the Saxton Field sports and recreation facilities was a good example of a joint partnership.

But there were other areas that were separate, such as each council conducting costly resource management plan reviews. Both faced water and housing issues, and had their own legal, information technology and customer services.

“The current discussion tends to suggest that two councils could take either a path to increased shared services or amalgamation but perhaps we should be looking at both,” Boswijk said.

“I am of the view that with increased pressure on rates, the region cannot afford the ongoing costs of the status quo.”

Nelson mayor Nick Smith says having two councils in the region causes extra costs and delays.

Combining the two councils would put the region seventh in terms of council size (Tasman is currently 20th and Nelson 24th) which would give it more weight dealing with central Government.

Under current laws a reorganisation proposal to the Local Government Commission can be proposed by one or both councils, a group of 10% of electors or the Minister of Local Government.

Nelson mayor Nick Smith said Boswijk’s call to put amalgamation back on the table was a bold and appropriate move.

“I see every single week extra costs and delays in local decisions because we have two councils,” he said.

“At a time when households and businesses are under such financial pressure local government does need to look at how we can be more efficient and effective.”

Smith said from his experience in Parliament there was no question that the region had missed out on central government investment because it did not have a united voice.

He made no secret that he supported having one council, but agreed with Boswijk that the councils should not lead the debate.

“I will be very interested to see how the community responds to the call the chamber has made.”