‘Merge or pay’: Christchurch councillor issues toll threat to neighbours

Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Residents of Selwyn and Waimakariri should be tolled to enter Christchurch if their councils refuse to merge with the city council, councillor Sam MacDonald says.

Those living in the two neighbouring districts benefit from facilities and infrastructure paid for by Christchurch ratepayers yet make no contribution towards them, he said.

“If the councils are not prepared to take the leap of faith and join up as one, at some point the people of Christchurch need to stop subsidising.”

But Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon has criticised MacDonald’s toll plan, saying it misses the bigger picture.

His comments come as the Government is forcing a fast-tracked amalgamation of local government.

It has given councils across New Zealand until August 9 to lodge merger proposals. If councils fail to come up with their own plan, the Government has warned it will do so for them.

MacDonald said Christchurch residents have paid for much of the stadium, pay to attract events to the city, are paying to run the new Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre and have paid to make sure the city’s roads can take an influx of outside commuters.

Yet the only tangible benefit to Christchurch is the money they spend while in the city, he said, and if those visitors come for an event at the stadium, that might only be a meal.

“Do we get accommodation nights? No. Does the airport benefit from it? No.”

MacDonald said he envisaged putting tolls on the motorways entering the city.

“If we’ve got this once-in-a-generation time to make a long-term decision for Canterbury then it does’t make sense that Christchurch ratepayers would continue to subside.”

He wanted to see the three councils join together as one unitary authority, which would encompass Environment Canterbury’s functions.

Gliddon said Selwyn residents contributed significantly to Christchurch’s economy, just as the city provided services and facilities used by people across the region.

“Looking at infrastructure through the lens of tolls and boundaries risks missing the bigger picture.”

She said Canterbury functions as one interconnected region, and the focus should be on “working together, not creating barriers between neighbouring communities”.

Christchurch City Council and Selwyn and Waimakariri councils have yet to decide on a preferred plan, and all say they will consult with the public first.

Mayor Phil Mauger said last month the council would not submit a Greater Christchurch proposal which included Selwyn or Waimakariri without those councils’ agreement.

He reiterated on Tuesday he did not want to “strong-arm” Selwyn and Waimakariri into creating a super-city, but said “something’s got to happen”.

“We’ve got to be at the table with a proposal.”

Mauger did not say if he supported MacDonald’s toll plan, but did point out that about 40% of Selwyn’s population commutes into Christchurch.

He also refused to say what his preferred amalgamation proposal was.

Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon also did not comment on the toll plan.

He said the district council had been meeting with it neighbours to discuss the reform and what it could mean.

Last month, Gordon said the community had already made it clear they did not want structural change.

During a city council briefing about the reform on Tuesday, council head of strategic policy and resilience David Griffiths said the Government wanted Canterbury, which stretches from north of Kaikōura to the Waitaki River in the south, to have no more than three unitary councils.

The August 9 proposals did not need to resolve all the issues, he said.

They would need to say which councils were coming together and also demonstrate that any new organisation could take on everything a regional council does. It would also need to show how Te Tiriti o Waitangi settlement arrangements would carry across to the new entity.

Cabinet will decide in September which proposals to progress. Councils will then work through the details, including how the new entities will be led and how the transition will be managed.

Councils have to submit final proposals in March 2027 and the Government plans to make final decisions in May that year.

The Government expects the changes to be implemented before the 2028 elections.