Local government options for Northland Submission deadline extended, more public meetings

In addition to the meetings, fliers outlining the public consultation for the McKinlay Douglas report, ‘Local Government Options for Northland’, including a submission form, will be circulated in local community newspapers to residents in Kaipara and Whangarei next week.

After a quick round of public meetings in March, WDC responded to feedback that more meetings were needed to enable people to find out about the proposals and that people also needed more time to prepare submissions. More meetings have been organised and the date for submissions has been extended.

Submitters now have until 31 May 2010 to get their submissions into Council and there will be nine more public meetings in Whangarei District and five more in Kaipara (see table below).

WDC Chief Executive Mark Simpson said Council had also received feedback that people wanted to know where WDC stands on the different options.

“Until now we have adopted a neutral stance and our politicians have stayed very much in the background as we believe this is something on which the community has to voice their own opinions. But more and more we are being asked what we consider is best - and now we are making it clear that Whangarei supports two unitary councils as the best way forward for Northland.”

Mr Simpson says interest in local government is picking up right around New Zealand, with communities looking at what is happening with the Auckland Supercity changes and considering their possible future when central government takes a look at the rest of New Zealand, as seems inevitable.

“Councillors, staff and ratepayers around the country are asking whether the current 20 year-old structures of local government are right for us in the 21st century.

“Many are saying that there needs to be more unity across whole regions – so they can ‘speak with one voice’ to central government on important regional issues. Others say that we need more local democracy and that local government is too remote from the average person. Is it possible to achieve more regional unity and at the same time, more grass roots democracy?”

Mr Simpson these were important questions that need to be answered and he encouraged everyone to read the flier, get along to a meeting and ask questions and to make a submission to Council.