LGC will not be rushed

DELAY: Local Government Commission chairman Basil Morrison - no announcement until after the election.

Northlanders will have to wait until next year to find out how the Local Government Commission plans to reshape councils in the region.

The commission spent a week last month seeking Northlanders' views on council reform at public meetings in Kerikeri, Mangawhai, Maungaturoto, Dargaville, Paihia, Russell, Kaikohe, Rawene, Kaitaia and Whangarei. It will consider what it heard, along with the views of the councils and iwi, then come up with a proposal.

The main options under consideration are a single unitary authority for all of Northland, one unitary authority in the Far North and another for Whangarei/Kaipara, and the status quo of three district councils with one overlapping regional council.

Chairman Basil Morrison told the Kerikeri meeting the commission could have had its proposal ready then, but had chosen to wait until after the October 12 local government elections, in part to avoid voter confusion.

That delay had "received the ire of one Mayor in Northland", a reference to the Far North's Wayne Brown.

The commission hoped to release a draft plan for public feedback in late October or early November, with the final proposal likely to be ready by February, depending on how many submissions had to be considered.

If people were unhappy with the commission's decision they would be able to demand a referendum by collecting signatures from 10 per cent of voters in any one of the three districts.

If the commission opted for a major change, a transitional plan would have to be approved by the government and fresh elections would be held, possibly in 2015. That would mean a term of two years for the mayors and councillors who will be elected next month. The following elections would take place in 2019, making a term of four years and bringing Northland back into sync with the rest of the country.

Mr Morrison was asked about his personal preference but declined to say. All he said was that the commission would consider all the information and views collected, and create a structure that would best serve the interests of Northland for the next 30 years. However, some of his statements in Kerikeri led to speculation the commission had already made up its mind.

Mr Morrison repeatedly asked Green MP David Clendon, who was among the 30-odd people at the meeting, for his party's support in amending the Local Government Act so local boards would be an option for Northland. Local boards are part of the new Auckland Council, but under the current law can only be implemented in regions with a population of more than 400,000 - in other words, only in Auckland.

Local boards are similar to the community boards the Far North District Council has now, but have legally protected powers and budgets.

Some at the meeting believed Mr Morrison's enthusiasm for a law change suggested the commission's preferred option was a single unitary authority with local boards, to allay concerns about the Far North and Kaipara being dominated by a Whangarei-centred behemoth. Mr Morrison told the meeting, however, that the commission simply wanted "one more tool" when it came to considering the best option for Northland.

In its submission to the Local Government Commission, the Northland Regional Council called for a single unitary authority with seven local boards. The district councils, however, want two unitary authorities based on the Far North and Whangarei/Kaipara boundaries.

The Far North is also pushing for designated Maori seats, but these would have to be implemented by the incoming council, not the commission.