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Head Start
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Waikato District backs ‘mountains to sea’ model for council merger
Waikato District Council has thrown its support behind a “mountains to sea” model for council merger, proposing a…
Who Gets to Decide How Raglan Grows?
Raglan’s main street was once repaved twice and repainted three times within a matter of months as different…
Different council rules complicate amalgamation plans
Major questions remain over how councils with different representation systems and referendum results could be combined under the…
Reform should begin with local communities, mayor says
Waikato District Mayor Aksel Bech says any new council structure should be designed from the community level up,…
Catchments and community voice central to council reform
Waikato regional councillor Noel Smith says elected members had barely begun their term when they were told the…
Bigger councils will not fix funding crisis
Former Auckland deputy mayor Penny Hulse says reorganising councils will not solve local government’s deeper problems unless funding,…
Efficiency and local voice central to council reform
Raglan Community Board chair Ross Wallis says any reorganisation of local government must deliver greater efficiency without weakening…
Beyond the Boundaries: What Is Local Government Really For?
How can communities like Raglan retain a meaningful voice if councils become larger? It is one of the…
Could Raglan lose its Community Board under local government reforms?
Whāingaroa residents are being encouraged to have their say on the future of local government as councils across New Zealand respond to what has been described as the biggest local government shake-up in decades.
Mayor told amalgamate or ‘be roadkill’
The Government wants councils to rapidly redesign local government structures – but Waikato District Mayor Aksel Bech says communities risk losing local voice if reforms become too centralised.