Government tells councils: Give us a plan within three months, or we will make one for you

Tuesday, 5 May 2026

Six months after announcing plans to abolish regional councils, Chris Bishop said he wants to leave it to regions to choose their own destiny.

But they need to choose it within three months, or else the Government will do it for them.

Speaking from his office on Tuesday with Local Government Minister Simon Watts, the Minister for RMA Reform gave councils a clear message: “lead your own reform, or we will do it for you”.

When the pair announced the plan to abolish regional councils in November, they had two proposals. One would replace elected regional councillors with Combined Territories Boards - made up of mayors from the region’s city and district councils - while the other would see those Combined Territories Boards prepare a regional reorganisation plan within two years.

During consultation, they said they found Combined Territories Boards were not a popular idea.

“We had a strong view coming through from some that mayors were busy enough, frankly, running their own councils and didn't really want to be on a combined regional body at the same time,” Bishop said.

“So the proposal that we're putting forward today is essentially our response to that, to say, okay, if you're up for it, here's a window in which the government will give you the ability to shape the destiny of your particular region.”

That window starts today and closes on August 9.

Under the Government’s new plan, councils have three months to take advantage of a “Head Start pathway”. This means submitting a proposal for a new unitary authority covering part or all of a region by August 9.

They will need to come from two or more territorial authorities, and propose a realistic unitary authority that can support the new planning system and deliver services efficiently, while representing local communities.

If ministers recommend a proposal moves forward, it will go to a detailed design phase with final decisions in 2027.

Any regions that don’t submit a proposal, or which submit one the ministers aren’t satisfied with, will be forced to follow a “backstop process” designed by the Government.

That process will likely be similar to the Combined Territories Boards that were initially proposed, Bishop confirmed.

“It will be some form of a combined entity, which may or may not include crown commissioners. It will certainly involve the mayors of a particular region … but it sort of depends on what comes forward through Head Start and what's left,” he said.

Under both options, regional councillors will remain in place until the 2028 elections. After that, they will be phased out by whatever reorganisation plan is in place.

Consultation showed capacity concerns within councils

The Government’s consultation on the proposal resulted in more than 1,150 submissions, and around 70 from councils. Most of these agreed with the need for reform, Bishop said.

“We're just saying to regions that have basically gone away over the last four or five months, mayors and communities who've said, actually, we're up for this. We're saying - come at us. We will give effect [to their proposals], as long as they're sensible and meet our range of criteria.”

But the consultation also identified “concerns about council capacity to progress these reforms at the same time as other government initiatives”.

Councils are currently involved in changes to New Zealand’s planning laws, working to implement rates caps and transitioning to new water entities.

Bishop said this move is a response to those concerns.

“It's actually, in some ways, this is a retreat from where we were in November, which was, here's what's happening.

“It's been refreshing. We put that out there, and I expected kind of all hell to break loose and everyone to go bananas. And actually, what's happened is the opposite. People have gone, oh, fantastic. Good. You guys are up for change. So are we.”

Asked whether councils will still be expected to consult with communities and and local iwi about the changes, Bishop said he is confident they will be able to do so within the three-month timeline.

“Honestly, local government spends its life consulting people,” he said. “They can go and meet the three month timeline.”

There was no mention of consultation for councils that utilise the Government’s “backstop process”.

“They can make this time frame, three months is more than enough,” Bishop responded when asked about it.

He said several mayors had been given a heads up in advance of the announcement, but admitted the Government did not seek cross-party support from the opposition.

In a statement, Labour’s local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere described it as a “messy, watered down plan”.

“Stuck in their own echo chamber, it's disappointing the Government don't see the most significant form of local government reform since 1989 as something to engage with Labour over,” he said.

“While it's positive that councils have been consulted on their own reform, we'll see more twists and turns for the Government to blame missteps on councils and further excuses for overreach. The Government should fund councils to properly deliver the services they require.'

Meanwhile LGNZ, the association of local governments across New Zealand, said the Head Start pathway is a step forward.

“Some regions will be ready to submit proposals to the Government by 9 August. Other regions have greater complexity that needs to be worked through. That needs to be respected,” LGNZ President Rehette Stoltz said.

For those that can’t make the three-month deadline, “LGNZ will be working with the Government to make sure that there is strong local influence over what the alternative Back Stop process looks like,” she added.