Are regional councils really going to go? Parliament eyes overhaul

Wednesday, 25 June 2025

Talk is toughening up around the possibility of scrapping regional councils, leaving an even bigger question mark over whether the structure of local government needs an overhaul.

Last week, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones used the The Post/Infrastructure NZ Local Government Forum in Wellington to question the value of regional government, saying it was NZ First’s view there was “less and less of a justifiable purpose” once Resource Management Act changes went through.

Following the comments, Local Government Minister Simon Watts said scrapping regional councils was not a “discussion that we’ve had as a coalition government” and “I know my brief well enough to not comment on New Zealand First policy”.

But on Tuesday, Watts said while no decisions had been made he expect the future would “look differently than what it is”.

“You can envisage that with changes to RMA reform, then the activities that are left post that reform will then need to be worked out around who does what.”

He said he did not think the situation was “something that we should be concerned about … I think it's a natural evolution in terms of the process under way…”

Labour MP Kieran McAnulty said if people looked at the structure of local government they might argue it was not now fit for purpose.

“Should a government force amalgamation on councils? I don't believe they should, but there definitely should be discussion around whether the structure is adequate.”

Local Government NZ president Sam Broughton said councils were already having conversations about how the structure of local government could be improved.

“However, we need to take a strategic approach and determine a preferred future state for the whole system rather than just reacting to individual pieces of government reform.

“We support councils choosing to work together where they feel it makes sense locally, however the current legislation and process can make that difficult.

“There is a remit at our AGM next month which calls for a review of Local Government structure and functions, so this issue is something LGNZ is discussing - and many councils know that it needs to be addressed.”

Acting Prime Minister David Seymour said the idea of scrapping regional councils was “something that I've heard discussed around the Beehive, for the simple reason that … regional councils largely exist for planning purposes”.

“We're changing the whole planning system. So it may be that with the new resource management laws, there's not a strong case to have regional councils any more.

“And if that's the case, then maybe the next logical question is, do we need that extra layer of government?”

Asked for the timeline of when the public would have an idea of the Government’s regional council plan, Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop said “in the context of resource management reform, our aim is to have bills into the house in quarter four of this year, so around October”.

“It is complicated. Regional councils do a whole range of different things, from public transport through to natural hazards, through to environmental monitoring and enforcement at a local regional level, through to environment plans. So we're just having a look at all of those things.”

Asked about who would handle public transport and waste, Watts said: “central government definitely don't want to be dealing with that”.

“I think there is an obligation on local government to be delivering the basics brilliantly in terms of waste and and other aspects like that, that's seen as a core service, which I do expect that local authorities will be delivering.

“I don't think that's going to fundamentally change in the conversation we're having around the role of regional councils, but we are focused as government and making sure that those local councils are delivering those basic services brilliantly.”