Both organisations have independently argued that the different needs of metropolitan and provincial communities need to be better recognised by the reform process.
Hamilton City Council’s ‘Metropolitan growth needs metropolitan governance’ white paper calls for a dedicated reform pathway for New Zealand’s growing metropolitan areas, with governance, funding, planning and legislative settings that reflect their particular growing pressures, opportunities and needs.
Federated Farmers’ ‘Enough talk, fix it’ report similarly argues metropolitan areas have “different service demands, growth patterns, and infrastructure profiles” from provincial regions.
Hamilton Mayor Tim Macindoe contends that the similarities between the two positions are significant.
“You could have made the assumption that ‘never the twain shall meet’. But when Hamilton City Council and Federated Farmers are identifying the same fundamental issue from very different perspectives, it’s worth paying attention to.
“Metropolitan and provincial communities have different needs. Reform gives us an opportunity to recognise those differences and design a local government system that works better for everyone.”
Council’s white paper does not propose a particular council structure. Instead, it asks Government to start with the outcomes metropolitan communities need, then consider the governance, funding and planning tools required to deliver them.
For Hamilton, that means looking beyond existing council boundaries and recognising the wider metropolitan area where people live, work, travel, do business and access services every day.
Federated Farmers has proposed Hamilton become a standalone unitary council, with provincial areas governed separately.
Mayor Macindoe said while the proposed approaches differ, the underlying principle is similar.
“This isn’t about cities and rural communities competing with each other.
“New Zealand needs thriving cities and thriving regions.
“That’s why we’ve argued for function before form to understand what our communities need local government to deliver, then determine the governance arrangements that will best deliver it.”
Read Hamilton City Council’s Metropolitan growth needs metropolitan governance White Paper and Federated Farmers’ Enough talk, fix it report.