Commission data behind move remains secret

Basil Morrison

"I can't give you a number," Local Government Commission chairman Basil Morrison says when asked to explain how the commission arrived at its decision that there was sufficient appetite for amalgamation in Hawke's Bay.

The commission yesterday released decisions on the three council reorganisation proposals it has been dealing with: Northland, Hawke's Bay and Wellington.

It decided not to proceed with the draft proposals it had put up for amalgamation in Northland and Wellington. But this region was different.

"We believe in Hawke's Bay there is community support for reorganising local government, that the final proposal will promote good local government, and is in the region's best interests," Mr Morrison said.

"Different regions have different challenges and may require different responses to those challenges.

"All three communities have indicated some change in local government is needed to ensure regions can be more effective and efficient and make decisions about what will be needed in future."

Deciding to proceed with a final proposal - and embarking on a process that will ultimately mean the issues are decided by a referendum - was not just a matter of considering the findings of a confidential poll of 2000 Hawke's Bay residents the commission carried out in March, Mr Morrison said.

Under the Local Government Act, the commission needs to be satisfied that its final proposal "has demonstrable community support" in all the existing council areas affected.

There was no single "number" that swayed the commission in making its decision, he said.

"The survey was an important part of the information the commission needed to make a decision, but it was all of the other groundwork - all of the numerous meetings, the information we sought and received - all of that contributed to us determining there was demonstrable community support in each of the affected areas [of Hawke's Bay]."

The data behind its decision will remain secret - at least for now. The commission said yesterday it would not release the results of its survey until the amalgamation process "reaches a conclusion and there is no chance of the results impacting on the community's decision on the final proposal". The decision to withhold the survey information has been slammed by amalgamation opponents including Napier MP Stuart Nash, Napier Mayor Bill Dalton and Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Peter Butler.

In reaching its decision to proceed to a final proposal in Hawke's Bay, the commission had "factored in" the likelihood of petitioners successfully demanding a poll - or referendum - on the issue, Mr Morrison said.

With the signatures of 10 per cent of voters in any one of the council areas required to trigger the poll, it is expected to happen.

-Talking Point, p11