The union representing the nation's public servants has come out against a proposed merger of Northland's four councils into one unitary authority.
The Local Government Commission recently wrapped up consultation on its proposal for a single Northland-wide council replacing the current regional council and three district councils. The commissioners are now considering whether to forge ahead with the plan, modify it, or abandon it.
The Public Service Association (PSA) said it was not opposed to amalgamations in principle, but any merger needed to be backed by hard evidence that it was an improvement on the status quo.
The economic benefits of the proposed Northland merger, however, had not been proven.
Acting national secretary Glenn Barclay travelled to the Kerikeri hearings to tell commissioners that PSA members at Northland councils were ''overwhelmingly opposed'' to amalgamation, and worried that community needs would be harder to meet in a more centralised system.