Merger talks: Christchurch mayor told to 'put big pants on'

Thursday, 11 June 2026

An Ashburton councillor says Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger should “put his big pants on” and show his cards for amalgamation plans.

Ashburton councillors reduced eight amalgamation options down to five - none of which include Christchurch City, at a district council meeting on Wednesday.

During the meeting, councillor Tony Todd suggested the Christchurch City Council needed to step up and lead.

Mauger should “put his big pants on and say we want to go to a super city”, Todd said.

“That would solve some of the issues if we knew what they were doing.”

A greater Christchurch council including Rolleston, Lincoln, and Prebbleton is logical because the towns would be 'close to one city anyway' in a few years, Todd said.

Mauger was unavailable for comment as he is in China on his Sister City visit, a spokesperson said.

Councils have less than two months to put forward proposals for amalgamations - or face a potential Government-imposed arrangement.

Canterbury, with 11 councils spread across the region, is yet to reach an agreement.

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum, made up of the region's mayors and Environment Canterbury's chair, meets again on Friday.

Ashburton mayor Liz McMillan said Ashburton has been discussing options with other councils, but no one is 'showing their cards” which made it difficult for decision making.

Ashburton was not 100% on its options, she said.

“And the clock is ticking.”

Almost all of Ashburton’s scenarios suggested its move would be alongside the creation of a Greater Christchurch Council, except for an Ashburton-Selwyn merger, which received only two votes of support for further analysis.

The option of amalgamation with the three South Canterbury Councils was the only one to receive unanimous support.

Ashburton ruled out the option of going alone as it wouldn’t meet Government requirements.

Deputy mayor Richard Wilson supported a South Canterbury merger and the opportunity for the Ashburton District to have a “bigger voice”, and there are similarities between the communities.

“They have approached us. They are courting us.”

In looking South, he said many people in Mid Canterbury would look to their holiday destination in Twizel and Tekapo.

A merger with Selwyn would be the “worst case scenario for us” due to the population imbalance, making Ashburton the minority, he said.

He said the council should be looking for a willing partner that offers good representation rather than “pick one because it’s richer than the other”.

The councillors decided they would have another round of engagement with the community, but couldn’t decide on the contents of that.

The five options that received a majority vote in support were:

• Ashburton extending to include the Rangitata South catchment and Rural Selwyn

• Ashburton with South Canterbury (Timaru/Mackenzie/Waimate)

• Ashburton with South Canterbury and Waitaki

• Provincial Mid-North Canterbury (Hurunui, Rural Waimakariri, Rural Selwyn, and Ashburton)

• Provincial Canterbury (all of Canterbury outside of the Greater Christchurch boundary)

McMillan sad the council would workshop the scenarios next week, with the benefit of whatever is gained from the Mayoral Forum.

This would include looking at financial analysis around assets and debt, regional council functions, and representation options in each scenario.

Councillor Phill Everest opposed the decision to delay further discussion due to the Government's looming August 9 deadline for proposals.