Newly elected Bay of Plenty regional councillors from the Eastern Bay may be gone by mid-2026 if a proposal to simplify local government goes ahead.
The Government released the proposal to scrap regional councillors on Tuesday, and replace them with new Combined Territories Boards made up of district mayors.
In a joint statement, Eastern Bay mayors, Kawerau’s Faylene Tunui, Whakatāne’s Nandor Tanczos and Ōpōtiki’s David Moore said the major shake up was “unnecessarily rushed”.
The trio acknowledged that change may be needed in local government and that they were willing to engage constructively in that discussion.
“Changes of this scale are constitutionally significant, and they warrant a process that reflects that importance.
“Regional councillors were elected by their communities with a clear mandate, and those communities rightly expect their elected representatives to serve out the full term.”
The mayors said allowing this would provide the time needed for a more meaningful and complete discussion.
Minister for RMA Reform Chris Bishop described it as the most significant change to local government since 1989.
The proposal is available to read on the Department of Internal Affairs website and anyone wishing to make a submission must do so before February 20. A final proposal will be confirmed by March before legislation is drafted.
Eastern Bay constituency councillors for Bay of Plenty Regional Council Malcolm Campbell and Sarah van der Boom and Kōhi Māori councillor Mawera Karetai all say the government has been signalling the change for some time.
Karetai said councillors needed to engage with the public now to make sure the change is in the best interests of their communities.
“People come and go, but the taiao remains, and we must make sure that our local and central government policies reflect that.
“My intention is to organise some community meetings to help our community engage in the consultation process, so any decisions made, are made with us.
Van der Boom stated during her election campaign that she was supportive of local government reform and is still in favour of it providing it is fit for purpose.
“We need to move toward a system that delivers key functions at a regional and district level as cost-effectively as possible,” she said.
“Community and stakeholders are best placed to determine key functions, and ultimately, the best form for local government.
“My role is to make sure community and stakeholder interests have a voice in local government reform discussions, so that central government does not dictate functions and form that are not fit for purpose,” van der Boom said.
Campbell said the most important thing was making sure everybody was fully aware of what regional councils actually do.
“We are definitely not against reform. We are for looking at ways to make it more affordable for our ratepayers.
“It’s not about us. It’s about what the ratepayer is going to get for their money.
“At this point in time, my responsibility to the over 7000 people who elected me in October is to make sure that they’re going to get the best deal that is available for them.”
He said the ramifications could be “pretty bad” for the environment.
“At the end of the day, the environment and water are the most important things. Those things have still got to be funded whether its through the regional council or through the territorial authorities.”
He said the savings from getting rid of regional councillors would be minimal.
Mayors Tunui, Tanczos and Moore said their priorities in reform discussions would include protecting the natural environment, upholding tangata whenua participation as a core element of local governance, preserving local decision-making and ensuring strong and accessible community input.
The proposal requires the Combined Territories Boards to work with post-settlement governance entities to implement any Treaty settlement commitments administered by the regional council and keep any committees established as part of a Treaty settlement.
However, Bay of Plenty Regional Council has a legislative requirement to have Māori constituencies, while the proposal has no Māori constituency seats on the board as they will be made up of mayors, who are voted for at large.
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