Mayors At Crunch Time to Decide Merging Partners
Written by John Freer on July 28, 2026
By Justin Tuburan
Mayors across the region are open to merging with the Coromandel, however all agree there was nowhere near enough time to do it effectively.
District councils across the country are set to make proposals on possible amalgamation partners before the government’s deadline on August 9, with Thames-Coromandel narrowing down to two options – Eastern Waikato or Northern Bay of Plenty.
Public surveys of Coromandel residents saw 54 percent of respondents preferring the ‘Eastern Waikato’ option – merging with Hauraki, Matamata-Piako, and South Waikato District Councils.
This was followed by 34 percent preferring a ‘Northern Bay of Plenty’ future, merging with Hauraki district’s coastline, into Western Bay of Plenty and Tauranga City Council.
Both groups of councils are finalising their submissions with a week and a half until the deadline with mayors across the two groups voicing openness to partnering with the Coromandel Peninsula.
Thames-Coromandel Acting Mayor, John Grant, says that both groups of councils provide unique similarities to the peninsula, making both very strong options.
“It’s always easier if it’s the people that you know you’re friends with, [the Eastern Waikato option] looks in many ways to be a very robust and strong option for us [and] it’s a part of the considerations that we will have as to how that stacks up with the opportunities the other way around [with the Bay of Plenty].
Mayors from both groups, besides South Waikato who has pulled out of the Eastern Waikato option, have expressed openness to working with TCDC, although all admit the short time frame and government ultimatum is less than ideal at best, and shameful at worst.
Matamata-Piako District Mayor, Ash Tanner, the Radio New Zealand-labelled ‘Maverick-Mayor’, remains the most outspoken about how he feels that Wellington does not have the interests of ratepayers at the heart of this deadline.
“The government has forgotten about our communities I think, it’s about the people, it’s not what the bureaucrats are saying or some ideological plan that pops into someone’s head.
He says that small district councils have been given an unrealistic amount of time for the biggest change to local government for savings that he doesn’t believe will even come to fruition.
“It comes down to about what’s the best we can get out of a shit situation”
Mayor Tanner says that despite this, he’s optimistic the Eastern Waikato proposal is the best option for his ratepayers as his existing partnerships and shared services with neighbouring councils make for an easier amalgamation.
He says that these existing shared services and established collaboration provides more savings for ratepayers than any council-merger could.
North of Tanner’s district, Mayor Toby Adams of Hauraki, is just as optimistic about the proposal and says that his council matches the overwhelming view of his district that an ‘Eastern Waikato’ unitary authority maintains strong local voice while appeasing Wellington’s desire for amalgamation.
“Yes, it’s a tight time frame but at least we get to choose our partners and we’re not forced into communities we don’t align with.”
Public surveying in Hauraki found that 86.8 percent of respondents preferred an ‘Eastern Waikato’ proposal with ‘maintaining local decision making’ and ‘keeping costs low’ being ratepayer’s most pressing concerns.
Adams has a more half-glass-full perspective than his southern neighbour saying that “maybe if we weren’t put under pressure, we might not get to a decision so it’s a good thing and a bad thing”.
His view matches the 50.9 percent of Hauraki survey respondents who supported their council merging with others.
He says that the formation of a working group of representatives from all Eastern Waikato councils has been extremely productive in envisaging what future governance structure may look like with all councils involved making a final decision on August 4.
The other option for the Coromandel of a ‘Northern Bay of Plenty’ proposal is just as welcome by districts along the coast to Tauranga.
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer says that while their clear partner is to merge with nearby Tauranga City Council, his region is open to extending that unitary authority up the coast to include the Coromandel Peninsula.
Denyer says that his region shares a coastal environment and geography with the Coromandel alongside similar tourism and environmental pressures that make a potential merger a real possibility, on top of ongoing discussions on merging water entities.
He agrees with Mayor Adams in that the short time frame has been difficult to work with but says it has sharpened his council’s focus on their priorities and says “that kind of [local government] simplification would be really useful for our community.”
Despite that optimism, Mayor Denyer admits that “no one’s really had time to model how savings might look […] that’s far from clear and far from evidence-based at this point.”
He says TCDC has been included in discussions as to how any potential amalgamation would look like, with his district looking to make a decision alongside Tauranga city either on August 4 or 6.
Despite this widely voiced frustration on the short timeframe for the biggest change to local government since 1989, all these mayors sang praise for the high engagement with their communities on this issue.
Mayor Adams says his district having double the responses of Hamilton City’s is really encouraging.
“To have twice as many as a city, for an area our size means we’re a little bit more connected to our communities, and I think that’s the important part… that’s the part we don’t want to lose.
TCDC is set to make a decision on which of the two pathways to move ahead with on August 4.
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Paddy Stewart On July 28, 2026 at 10:10 pm
South Waikato withdrawn from Eastern Waikato. sounds perfect for us now.