Regional leaders condemned
Laidlaw criticises ‘puerile behaviour’ over amalgamation
Local authority amalgamation debate has descended into farce, according to one Wellington regional councillor.
‘‘Puerile behaviour has reached absurd proportions,’’ Chris Laidlaw claims.
Some local authority leaders had continually obstructed and undermined all efforts to cooperate on spatial planning, economic development, climate change and hazard planning and water supply infrastructure, he said.
‘‘ There were no rational arguments against it, but by and large the mayors got in the way,’’ Laidlaw said.
When failure to co-operate led to an amalgamation proposal, the debate quickly became confrontational, he said.
Officers from all the territorial authorities collaboratively developed a management plan for climate change and hazard management and did a ‘‘a fantastic job’’.
Laidlaw, who has been a regional councillor since 2007, said the logic of dealing with the issues regionally was immutable.
‘‘It’s just a no-brainer. It went to the Mayoral Forum and it just disappeared.’’
Attempts to collaborate on regional economic development were equally unsuccessful, with each council rating to finance it, but some defecting or withholding some of their economic development rates.
‘‘It was xenophobia of the most unproductive type,’’ he claims.
The new Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency arrangement was even worse, Laidlaw alleges.
‘‘In the end it was sabotaged by narrow political interests.’’
The formation of Wellington Water to manage water supply, stormwater and sewerage infrastructure goes part way to useful co- operation, but ownership of assets has remained with the client councils, and Kapiti and Wairarapa were not included.
‘‘It’s not an optimal arrangement,’’ he said.
‘‘This whole issue of amalgamation could have been solved very simply if there had been enough political will – there would have been no need for it,’’ he said.
‘‘ Unfortunately we have poisoned the waters.
‘‘That’s an absolutely terrible indictment of the leadership of this region.’’
Laidlaw said he would like to see enough concerned citizens telling their elected representatives to sit down around a table and make it happen.
‘‘ It’s not going to happen because there is too much political toxin,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re in the trenches and we’re stuck with it.’’
If the Local Government Commission decides not to recommend its draft amalgamation proposal, Laidlaw said he hoped it would strongly recommend that the councils sit down and co-operate on regionalising what needs to be regionalised and strengthening local democracy.
‘‘People have got to get over their dislike of one another.’’