WHAT THE SUBMITTERS SAID:

Greg Ball, of Khandallah supported full amalgamation into one council with local boards. ‘‘It provides for economies of scale, avoids duplication of services and focuses on our whole region whilst still providing for local input into regional decisions.’’

Colleen Spencer, of Lyall Bay said the city should stick with the status quo. ‘‘I would like to see the council get back to basics and do them well. I feel the huge amount of money I spend on rates is not used wisely. We do not need a ‘super council’ – I see this as a further decline in basic services.’’

Susan-Jane Davies, of Seatoun supported two councils in Wellington and Wairarapa. ‘‘The area is too small and irretrievably interconnected. The interests of Wellington, the Hutts, Porirua and Kapiti are aligned in terms of commerce and infrastructure. The Wairarapa is a completely different proposition – agriculture and life-stylers. We need greater cohesiveness and economies of scale.’’

Simon Manning, of Kaiwharawhara supported three councils in Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa.

Wellington Mayor Celia WadeBrown welcomed the submissions, and said they showed a fairly even divide in opinion.

A Colmar Brunton poll being conducted this month would provide further information from the wider public to help feed the debate, she said.

She also welcomed the work being carried out by Greater Wellington’s panel.

‘‘As we draw together information from thousands of residents throughout the region, we will obviously continue to work with all the other councils to develop a more detailed proposal that reflects what residents wish ‘‘It just seems a sensible thing to do. Wellington residents often move to the Kapiti Coast in retirement and this would allow better planning for future growth. Hutt Valley have different challenges which they can manage better if they were joined, as would the Wairarapa.’’

Dave Stringer, of Churton Park supported two councils in Wellington and Wairarapa. ‘‘There are too many elected and governance bodies today, the overheads are unnecessary and combining them makes financial and development sense. However, there is a significant difference between urban and rural community needs and this option allows the two types of community to be appropriately served by an elected local government.’’

Bruce McCall, of Miramar supported the status quo with shared services between councils. ‘‘Citizens of each area have a relatively strong identification with and sense of belonging to their communities. Amalgamation of councils on too large a scale results in community members becoming disenfranchised with what is happening and means they often feel they will not be heard over local issues.’’ to see as well as what will be best for us here in Wellington.

‘‘We recognise the panel’s contribution to this debate and look forward to their ongoing support for a broad process of consultation.’’

Mr Prangnell said people should be sure to engage with the debate now.

If any of the region’s councils put forward an amalgamation proposal, it will be processed under new legislation coming into effect in November.

That would remove the need for an approved proposal to go out for public vote before going to Government for sign-off, he said.