Commission Chair Sue Piper delivered the decision to about 100 people at the Waihi Beach RSA on Tuesday, 18 January 2011.

The Commission had been considering a proposal for a boundary change to transfer the Waihi Beach Ward from the Western Bay of Plenty District to the Hauraki District.

Ms Piper said that the decision to remain with the status quo was made on the basis that a boundary shift “would not promote good local government of the Waihi Beach Ward and the Western Bay of Plenty and Hauraki Districts.”

Western Bay Mayor Ross Paterson says he is pleased to retain the governance of Waihi Beach and is satisfied that the Commission has reached its decision on the basis of the sound reasoning presented by Council and other submitters opposed to the proposal.

The proposal stemmed from a petition by a group of Waihi Beach ratepayers last year calling for a boundary change to amalgamate with Hauraki District Council.

Summarising the reasons behind the decision not to proceed with the transfer, Sue Piper said that the proposal:

(a)  Does not clearly reflect communities of interest better than existing arrangements;
(b)  Would not necessarily provide for more effective future representation of Waihi Beach residents and ratepayers;
(c)  Would not improve local governance arrangements;
(d)  Would not facilitate more effective planning for meeting the immediate and long-term needs of the districts and regions concerned;
(e)  Would not result in demonstrably better service delivery arrangements for Waihi Beach Ward residents;
(f)  Would have a detrimental impact on the balance of Western Bay of Plenty District ratepayers and while likely to have a positive impact in the short term on Waihi Beach Ward ratepayers and Hauraki District ratepayers, these benefits are not sufficient to outweigh the negative impacts of the proposal overall and the transitional disruptions that would occur.

Sue Piper said the Commission acknowledged the effort made by the proposer, affected local authorities and all submitters.

Mayor Paterson said Council is grateful to the Local Government Commission for the time it has taken to consider the proposal, listen intently to both sides of the situation and make a considered and logical decision.

Appeals against the decision can be made to the High Court on points of law.

The full report of the Commission’s findings can be found Commission’s website at www.lgc.govt.nz