Thumbs Up For Recommended Unitary Council

By Justin Tuburan

The Coromandel to Matamata council amalgamation proposal was voted in favour by the three councils today and already has been given the thumb’s up.

Thames Coromandel Mayor, Peter Revell, drew the conclusion when looking at a map of the combined council territory, which resembled the sign.

Matamata-Piako, Hauraki, and Thames-Coromandel District Councils approved the formerly called ‘Eastern Waikato’ option in separate meetings this morning, ahead of the government’s deadline this Sunday

The now-dubbed ‘Waihou-Piako-Coromandel’ proposal was approved unanimously by councillors in Matamata-Piako and Hauraki, and a 7-4 majority vote in Thames-Coromandel.

Mayor Revell says he’s “absolutely delighted” that councils have approved the proposal and said that the fact that his council’s decision wasn’t unanimous shows the healthy and robust debate he expected councillors to have.

“We had a very very good debate at the council meeting today, the views and diversity of views were well expressed, and we voted, and we’ve ended up with this outcome, which I think is great for our district.”

Hauraki District Mayor, Toby Adams, recognises the short time frame councils have had to work with, saying “it was short, it was tight, but it got us to a resolution”, further adding that “we could’ve had two years to get something and we could’ve been in the same boat waiting until the last day to make a final decision”.

He said that he’d be extremely disappointed if the government doesn’t move ahead with this option.

“I’ll tell you what, if the government doesn’t [approve this proposal], then they need to get their bloody heads read, because we put a lot of effort and work into this.”

Matamata-Piako District Mayor, Ash Tanner, has been openly outspoken against the government’s imposing of this ultimatum onto councils, but still believes this is the most balanced option.

“Working together would give us the scale to make better-connected decisions while keeping local priorities and services close to the people they affect.”

South Waikato, originally included in the ‘Eastern Waikato’ proposal voted by residents, has since pulled out of discussions, opting for other options, leaving the other three to move ahead with a proposal to the central government.

The three mayors met during the afternoon at the base of the Waihou River at Kopu, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, overlooking the Firth of Thames, and the river which runs through all three districts.

Council staff will now complete the proposal document, with a final version expected to be sent to Wellington before the government’s deadline this Sunday, and Ministers’ decision on whether to go ahead with this proposal, is expected some time in September.

The three mayors agreed protecting local voice and representation will be key if the proposal gets approval, so much so that when asked where a future council’s head office should be, they each jokingly – and somewhat expectedly – had a different answer.

“It’d have to be Matamata-Piako”

“Having a head office in Thames would work really well”

“We don’t want to disconnect from any communities, and we need to be mobile […] maybe that’s something that shifts around, I don’t really know”.

Readers can probably guess who said which.