LGNZ gets behind push to reorganise regional government - with conditions

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

The Government’s push to transform local government has won conditional backing from the sector’s main lobby group - which says regional councillors should remain in place throughout the transition.

The Government changes, announced last year, involve replacing regional councils with Combined Territories Boards (CTBs) comprised of mayors from the region’s city and district councils - abolishing the position of regional councillors.

In a submission by LGNZ, the national voice for councils, said keeping regional councillors in place through the transition would free up busy mayors to focus on the transition plan and ensure vital expertise isn’t lost.

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Mayors will be responsible for developing a regional reorganisation plan for their CTB within two years, setting out how councils can best work together to deliver local infrastructure, public services, and regulatory functions.

In its submission to the Department of Internal Affairs, LGNZ proposedthat regional councillors continue governing until the end of the triennium - or until the plans are completed - so mayors on the new boards could focus solely on developing them.

If the Government still wanted to abolish councillor roles immediately, LGNZ recommended keeping current regional council chairs on the CTB - either as chair or member - or appointing outgoing regional councillors to a CTB committee.

LGNZ’s Regional Sector Chairperson, Dr Deon Swiggs, said developing reorganisation plans would require a significant amount of extra work for most mayors.

Flexibility would allow CTBs to concentrate on reorganisation and get the job done more efficiently, he said.

“Regional councillors have important insights to contribute to the development of these plans, which would be lost if they are completely removed from the process,” Swiggs said.

“We want the right expertise in the room so that the most significant changes to local government since 1989 are successful and enduring.”

The submission noted the functions of regional councils were “very different” to territorial authorities, creating a steep learning curve.

It noted the democratic mandate in place for regional councillors to serve their region until October 2028, having just been elected four months ago.

The different governance arrangements would likely be disruptive at a time when changes to other major local government reforms - the Resource Management Act and rates capping - were underway.

LGNZ President Rehette Stoltz supported the reorganisation of local government’s form, function and relationship with central government.

“There’s an acknowledgement from all sides that this process is ambitious. Our focus is to make sure it’s as enduring as possible.”

LGNZ’s support for changes to local government is nothing new. Last year, a remit was passed at its annual general meeting which called for a review of local government’s structures and functions.

At the time it was noted that since the last change in 1989, communities, demographics, and challenges had changed dramatically.

LGNZ is excluding regions already underway with reorganisation work from its proposal.

Some councils firmly against

While LGNZ is a membership-based organisation that speaks on behalf of councils across New Zealand, some councils have been vocal in their opposition to the changes.

Draft submissions from Upper Hutt and Porirua city councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council oppose the proposal.

Concerns included changing the democratic system without an election, mayors forced to do jobs they did not sign up for or have the capacity for, a loss of trust and institutional knowledge and mayors facing conflicts of interest by favouring their district’s interest over those of the wider region.

Upper Hutt City Council is calling for the regional reorganisation plan to take three years, rather than two.

Porirua City Council wanted to see regional reorganisation plans prepared jointly by iwi, regional council and local councils with public input.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story indicated LGNZ backed the abolishment of regional councils. LGNZ says it is backing some sort of reorganisation but not necessarily council positions being abolished.