Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says the devil will be in the detail regarding the government’s proposal to abolish regional councils.

Mayor Little supports any review that provides improvements for isolated districts like Wairoa, but says we need to be careful what we wish for. “I believe a review is needed, and historically, Wairoa has been critical of some areas of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s (HBRC) performance, and we know things can be done better. However, the worst scenario would be Wairoa’s voice being further diluted, when in fact we want a future where Wairoa can sit at the table and have parity under a new, inclusive format.

“I think the current structure of local government is at the crux of the issues. There is a lot of confusion around roles and responsibilities relating to local infrastructure and services, environmental regulation and natural resource management across Hawke’s Bay.

“Decisions in the past appear to have been made based on population, but they actually should have been made on land area. In Wairoa’s case, our population is small, but our land mass is huge, and that hasn’t always been considered.”

Mayor Little has been impressed with the leadership of newly elected regional council chair Sophie Siers and other new regional council chairs he has worked with through Local Government New Zealand’s Zone 3.

“We need to have a regional leaders' discussion on the impacts of this announcement. We also need to ensure the roles, functions, and responsibilities currently administered by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council continue to be effectively carried out during this reform process and once a decision has been made.

“In Wairoa, we have a HBRC team of local people who are on the ground doing a fantastic job. We need to work to protect this type of localism and institutional knowledge and ensure that moving forward, districts like Wairoa are well represented and receive enhanced services, not reduced.”

“We also need to be aware of what this could mean for local government in New Zealand. I would hope there would be efficiencies and cost savings based on reducing duplication and removing a level of bureaucracy, but it is too early to make a call on that.”

“It is really important that under this reform, central government and local government work together in a genuine partnership, and we need to remember that it is central government that sets the legislation and regulations that councils are required to work with.”

Regarding RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop’s comment that voters did not support regional councils, and in most regions, voter turnout was below 50% for local government elections, Mayor Little said, Wairoa has one of the highest voting turnouts in New Zealand, and suggested that if local government had the same investment into the election period as central government, Wairoa and other areas would see increased voter turnout.

27 November 2025

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