News release
Cr Daran Ponter
Greater Wellington Regional Council
28 November 2012
Government buries the two-tier option for Wellington local government
Greater Wellington Regional Councilllor Daran Ponter says that the Government’s refusal to support a two-tier model for
Wellington local government has significantly damaged proposals being advanced by Fran Wilde for a Wellington Region
Super City.
The Government yesterday introduced a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) for the Local Government Amendment Bill. It
includes changes to enable the Local Government Commission to approve an Auckland style Super City only, in Wellington
and elsewhere.
“What’s in the Supplementary Order Paper is in stark contrast to the model put forward by the Wellington Review Panel”,
says Daran Ponter.
“The Act will not allow for the type of two-tier structure advanced by the Independent Review Panel. The SOP only
provides for the Auckland model only – not a situation which Wellingtonians’ will embrace” Says Daran Ponter.
“The majority of Wellingtonians have already rejected a Wellington super city idea. It is now time for local government
to reopen the debate on how councils can better collaborate and pool their expertise and resources” says Daran Ponter.
We already have good examples of collaboration across the region – we simply need to work harder at it” says Daran
Ponter
“We need solutions that are suitable for the Wellington Region. We have time to do this properly. There is absolutely no
signal from the Government that it will impose local government reform in Wellington – they are leaving it to people of
the Wellington Region to decide and we need to listen to what they want”. says Daran Ponter..
ends