Taupō Council to assess four amalgamation options

Thursday, 2 July 2026

Four merger options are being considered for Taupō District Council, involving other local authorities from Ruapehu to Thames-Coromandel.

After a brief round of consultations, Taupō District Council has decided which amalgamation options it will look into further.

In an Extraordinary Meeting held on June 30, elected members directed their staff to assess and report back on four options.

Local councils have until August 9 to tell central government who they want to partner up with.

If they don’t, central government will determine how an amalgamation would occur.

One option is a single unitary Waikato authority, as per the current Waikato Regional Council boundaries.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop set councils the ultimatum on May 5, saying change was needed because the local government system was “too complex, too costly and too hard to navigate”.

Four nuptial options considered

Taupō’s elected members voted to direct their staff to investigate the following options:

1) A single unitary Waikato authority

This would follow the current boundary of the soon-to-be-axed Waikato Regional Council.

2) A Central North Island unitary authority

This would include Ruapehu, Waitomo, Ōtorohanga, South Waikato and Taupō district councils or various combinations of those councils.

3) A Rotorua, Great Lakes, and South Waikato unitary authority

A Central North Island unitary authority is also being considered.

This could cover Rotorua Lakes, Ruapehu, South Waikato and Taupō district councils or various combinations of those councils.

4) Wait for the Government to decide Taupō’s fate

Preserving the Taupō voice

In preparation for their decision, Taupō council ran an online survey and a series of public meetings.

‘Any option that makes Taupō a subordinate is not the best position to be in,’ Cr Wahine Murch says.

The survey drew 1113 responses, while 96 people attended face-to-face meetings.

Those responding to the survey listed financial sustainability as the most important factor to consider when it comes to amalgamation.

Maintaining relationships, including Māori, was listed as the least important.

Te Papamārearea Ward councillor Wahine Murch said amalgamation must not compromise the voice of Taupō.

Joining with all, or some, of Rotorua Lakes, Ruapehu and South Waikato is on the list.

“Any option that makes Taupō a subordinate is not the best position to be in,” Murch said.

She also said option three would incorporate the Waikato Headwaters, Tongariro National Park and the Geothermal Corridor while keeping Taupō at the core.

“This option also inverts the logic and asks what governance boundary makes sense for the Central Plateau.”

It would also give the area a council-wide population of 103,000 residents.

The final option is to do nothing and wait for the Government to decide Taupō's fate.

Tūrangi Ward councillor Sandra Greenslade added her support to Murch’s tort.

Greenslade said Taupō was surrounded by nine councils, and there was a lot of room for overlap and shared interest.

Taupō Ward councillor Rachel Cameron said the Government had put them in a no-win situation, but she would vote in favour of investigating the four options.

“I would very much like to include in any proposal [to the Government] how opposed we are to this process,” Cameron said.

She said this was a move towards centralisation, which would remove the local voice from local governance.

Could the past help to guide the future?

Cr Duncan Campbell thought there was a way for Taupō to get around the Government’s back stop process.

Taupō East Rural Ward councillor Kylie Leonard said researching older forms of governance could guide and direct future decisions.

“In 1989, we had a catchment-based system,” Leonard said.

“It was certainly the impetus of Taupō District, and Taupō Borough Council which have set us up for where we are today.”

The last local governance reforms saw a transfer of assets and functions and understanding that transition would be crucial information, she said.

Meanwhile, Taupō ward councillor Duncan Campbell said by doing nothing and thus opting for the Government’s “back stop” process, Taupō District Council could actually achieve an amalgamation on its own terms.

He said the council could use the Local Government Act Schedule 3, which allows for and outlines the process for any council to amalgamate at any time.

A Department of Internal Affairs spokesperson told Local Democracy Reporting recently that the details of the back stop process would be finalised in 2027 and the councils that opted for this would use the current arrangements for the 2028 local elections.

The outcomes of the back stop process would then be in place for the next local elections in 2031.

Campbell said he believed the council could amalgamate with another region on its own terms before that and therefore get around following the Government’s backstop process.

“We should be actively choosing to follow that [Local Government Act Schedule 3] process,” Campbell said.

“It does involve actual meaningful consultation with the community.”

He and Mangakino-Pouakani Ward councillor Hope Woordward said the council had not been able to consult properly as part of the current process.

No decision was made as to whether Campbell’s proposal would be included as part of the do-nothing option.

Council staff will now continue to investigate the four options presented to elected members.

They will present their insights at the council meeting on July 21 when elected members will vote on their preferred option.

But for now, “to amalgamate or not to amalgamate?” remains the ever-present question.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.