Local government leaders from the Horizons Region are working together to progress discussions on central government’s local government reform programme, known as Simplifying Local Government. Mayors from all city and district councils in the region, alongside the Horizons Regional Council chair, met again this week as a Mayoral Forum to discuss how reform conversations are progressing with their councils and communities. The forum is chaired by Horowhenua District Council mayor Bernie Wanden.
The forum has commissioned an independent report from Morrison Low Advisory to assess a single unitary council model for the Horizons Region. The report evaluates how a potential Horizons Unitary Council would align with the Government’s five assessment criteria and provides a common evidence base for individual councils to use when making their own decisions. Horizons Regional Council has also prepared district-by-district information packages that explain its regional functions, how they are funded, and important considerations for local government reform. These packages cover activities such as flood management, transport, catchment management, and biosecurity.
Horizons chair Nikki Riley emphasised the importance of maintaining strong regional function delivery through any reform process. She noted that activities such as flood management, environmental data collection, and the Sustainable Land Use Initiative involve complex links between urban and rural areas and between different parts of river catchments. Rates collected from urban areas are often used for work in rural areas, with both communities ultimately benefiting from regional coordination.
The Mayoral Forum will reconvene in early August once all councils have confirmed their position on the Head Start process, which is the framework under which territorial councils can propose amalgamation. The forum intends to provide an update to the Government following this meeting by 9 August 2026.
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Source: Horizons Regional Council – News. This summary was published by Input Ltd via amalgamation.nz, New Zealand’s central resource for local government amalgamation news and council merger updates.
