Government has left little time for ‘analysis or public consultation’: Cretney

Saturday, 16 May 2026

Working together: SWDC deputy mayor and councillor Rob Taylor, mayor Fran Wilde, Masterton mayor Bex Johnson, Carterton mayor Steve Cretney, Masterton deputy mayor Craig Bower and (front) Carterton deputy mayor, Grace Ayling.

Steve Cretney is Carterton’s mayor.

OPINION: The three Wairarapa councils have agreed to work together in response to the recent Head Start Pathway announcement in relation to Government’s Simplifying Local Government plan.

Rising costs, unfunded mandates, severe weather events, changes in planning and regulatory functions, and the separation of our waters activities, means the District and Regional council model that has operated for nearly 40 years needs a rethink.

This is our future and the future of our mokopuna. This decision shouldn’t be rushed.

However, Government has put a tight time frame on councils to present proposals for reform.

We have until August 9 to develop a plan and submit it to Government for consideration.

This doesn’t allow much time for either analysis or public consultation.

The Government will be assessing proposals on set criteria; deliverability, supporting the new planning system, simpler local governance, economies of scale and maintaining local voice.

We know Wairarapa wants to be in charge of its’ own destiny.

We support the prospect of having greater efficiencies of scale across Wairarapa.

We want to ensure that council services remain affordable, and that local voice and decision-making is maintained.

As mayors we are strongly committed to a unitary solution that will be a platform for local voice and decision-making.

This could be a combined Wairarapa unitary, or a wider Wairarapa and Wellington unitary council.

Carterton’s mayor Steve Cretney says his council has committed to work with his neighbouring councils to craft a “unitary solution that will be a platform for local voice and decision-making”.

Regional Council work that would be moved to a new combined unitary authority includes planning/regulatory, river management, flood control, pest management, regional spatial planning, marine regulation, regional land transport planning and public transport delivery.

Some key questions

Can Wairarapa, a vast geographical area with a relatively small population, afford to deliver these services to the standard that they are delivered today?

Will the upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act help us in keeping costs down?

It’s hard to know without further research.

We might be able to deliver all the Greater Wellington Regional Council activities from the Wairarapa ourselves.

However, we are cautious about the financial impact of taking over these functions and the impact on rates in our communities.

In the next several weeks this is where most of our attention will be focused. We need to evaluate if this model is affordable for residents.

It’s also important that any unitary council is sustainable into the future and takes account of other potential central government policy changes and bigger financial demands from unplanned emergencies such as weather events.

There are no easy answers.

Given the time frames imposed by Government, it is unlikely we will be able to obtain all the answers before we have to make a decision.

Our commitment is to keep our communities informed of progress and share information as it comes to hand.

We note also that this change will occur in the same time frame as transition to Waitī Waters and the Government seeking to introduces rates capping, adding further complexity and restrictions to working together.

While any proposed unitary model would ideally just be agreed by participating councils, in this case the final decision rests with Government.

If a Wairarapa unitary council proves unaffordable, we still have options.

We are participating with a wider Wellington region council discussion, or we could do nothing and wait for the Government to make a decision for us in 2028.

While not a very appealing option to us, some councils are choosing to do nothing, at this time.

However, the three Wairarapa mayors, deputy mayors, councillors and staff will be actively engaged in the Head Start Pathway for simplifying local government.

We will focus on affordability, fair and effective representation and simplifying local government while taking advantage of the economies of scale and efficiencies that a larger unitary authority could provide.

Exciting times ahead.

You’ll be hearing more from us in coming weeks.