Government announces ‘Head Start’ pathway for local government reform

What’s been announced

The Government has announced a new ‘Head Start’ pathway for local government reform, giving councils three months to put forward proposals for how local government could be reorganised in the future. The announcement is focused on how councils may be structured and organised in the future, including the potential for changes to how councils are made up, such as moving toward larger unitary authorities. These are councils that cover the responsibilities of both city/district and regional councils.

What this means for Western Bay
Western Bay of Plenty District Council was advised of this announcement yesterday and is currently working through what it could mean for the district. At this stage, there is limited detail available about how the process will work in practice, beyond the Head Start pathway document released by Government. See more information here: Head-Start-Simplifying-Local-Government-policy-document.pdf

Business as usual for now
For now, it is business as usual. The services Council provides to the community - including infrastructure, roading, libraries, pools, and community support - remain unchanged.

What happens next
We are in the early stages of understanding the announcement and will be seeking further information from central government, as well as working through what this could mean locally.

No decisions have been made about whether Western Bay of Plenty District Council will be part of any proposal.

Keeping you informed
We will continue to keep the community informed as more information becomes available and will begin talking with communities about what matters most to them as this work progresses.