Letter to the Editor Thursday November 28, 2013

What now?

What the LGC presents to the people of Northland as its preferred option for Northland will, by and large, determine the shape of local government for the next generation. Most people may not appreciate the enormous effect this will have on their lives and economic welfare.

The application from FNDC, driven by Mayor Brown, pre-empted a proper form of elector consultation, and triggered a process he could not control. It now behoves every citizen to make themselves familiar with all the unbiased information they can before being called upon to vote for their preference.

With nearly a third of the nation's population governed by one authority, it seems logical that something of a similar nature could be imposed on an apathetic electorate. The signs indicate that such a model would receive government support. All in the name of efficiency.

Twenty-five years ago there were six local authorities in the FNDC area which worked very well for the communities involved. Unless something of a similar nature is created it is extremely unlikely that the voting public will give any credence or support to anything else. Better the devil one knows than the one one doesn't know.

There are more options for consideration than Wayne Brown's proposed utopia. The first prerequisite for any change for betterment is quite definitely community empowerment for each community. In the case of the Far North District it is simply a return to the six community boards that once existed as they previously represented the six local areas of interest, and were strong, cohesive units, each attending to the mundane day-to-day affairs peculiar to their areas of concern. A smaller district council which could then act in the capacity of overarching unitary authority for Whangarei may in itself provide a workable proposal that may well suit the interests of a large metropolitan area, but it will not necessarily serve the best interests of Northland as a whole.

It must not be forgotten that the biggest territorial authority in the country is right on the front doorstep. It will need muscle to compete for government resources.

Kaipara has a vital place to play in the grand scheme of things, and should not be seen as the poor relation. Its role as the receiver of run-off water from both Whangarei and the Far North strengthens the case for environmental concerns to be controlled by the one body. The much maligned debt problem can be best managed by ring-fencing it until it either becomes a manageable issue or is dealt with by way of a differential rating system.

This worked for Northland dairy farmers when the Northern Dairy companies amalgamated to form Northland Dairy Coy.

When considering the make-up of Northland as a single entity, it contended that Wellsford should be a part of the region, as its community of interest lies to the north as against the south to Auckland. It is believed that being included as part of Northland will better serve that community's needs, and it would give a better balance to the political and economic well-being of Northland as an entity.

Fair representation of the region can be resolved by the creation of a board for each community, eg 11-15 separate community boards under a single unitary authority. This will remove one tier of local government, and will reflect an overall saving in costs. This will work as intended only if financial responsibilities are enshrined by legislation.

There still remains the question of the inherited assets of the Northland Regional Council. In any re-organisation, this question should be resolved before any simple partition, as they are held in trust for the whole of Northland and not for any perceived section. Held together by all Northlanders, and with adequate representation, this simple fact will ensure no community can be dominated by Whangarei interests.

We, collectively, are all in this together, and are interdependent. This is the only way we can survive and prosper.

Northland electors will be called upon to vote on an electoral proposal during the next 12 months, that once in place will last for a generation. It therefore behoves everybody to make themselves aware of all the options to enable a good decision to be made. There has been a plethora of information put out on the subject, some sensible, some barrow-pushing, and some downright misleading, and all freely available.

The last word could be as Judge Trapski, a commissioner charged with hearing submissions on the subject, said: "I have yet to be convinced, that one unitary authority is not in Northland's best interests."
SHAUN REILLY Kaikohe