Election delays capital’s super-city debate

THE preferred super-city option for the Wellington region will not be revealed until after the general election, the Local Government Commission has announced.

The commission said it wanted to ‘‘preserve the important distinction’’ between local and central government processes and so would not announce any further details about amalgamation proposals in Wellington until after the election on September 20.

Greater Wellington Regional Council chairwoman Fran Wilde said it was not an unexpected decision.

‘‘I think everybody, no matter where they are on the issue, would like it to happen a bit faster, but frankly the general election just got in the way.’’

The commission said it was close to deciding on a preferred option for the Wellington region, which could be to maintain the status quo.

The region’s councils are divided on the issue. Greater Wellington and Porirua City Council are pushing for a single, two-tier super-city including Wairarapa; Wairarapa wants to merge its three councils into a single unitary authority; Wellington is asking for a one-tier super-city structure that excludes Wairarapa; and Kapiti, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt favour the status quo.

The commission said it had held almost 100 meetings about the proposals and commissioned six detailed reports, with more to come.

Adding to the abundant information are the reports produced by the councils themselves, some of which have conflicting information that needs to be worked through.

For example, the Wairarapa working group estimated the starting deficit for a single Wairarapa authority would be about $2 million, but Greater Wellington estimated it would be more than $11m.