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Views on Amalgamation Petition
24 July 2009
Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne responded to today’s announcement by Nelson Councillor Aldo Miccio calling for amalgamation of Tasman and Nelson, saying it is not needed and would be a significant cost to the community.
“We have just been through a community planning process and there is little support in Tasman for amalgamation. The question of amalgamation for Tasman was also emphatically resolved in the October 2007 elections when any candidate who supported amalgamation was unsuccessful. However I accept Cr Miccio has long been a supporter of amalgamation so he is exercising his democratic right to promote a petition.”
“I do not accept Aldo’s inference that the two Council’s do not work together on issues affecting both areas. We do, and with shared services like Saxton Field, Nelson Tasman Tourism and Port Nelson, we get the benefit of amalgamation without losing local decision making.”
“Tasman is a large and diverse district and amalgamation would concentrate elected representatives in the urban majority. We consider this would be detrimental to good representation.”
Mayor Kempthorne said that embarking on an investigation, when neither Council has budgeted for it, was unwelcome.
“I am confident that Tasman residents, when they consider the implications, will see the costs of amalgamation will outweigh any benefits and it is my expectation that the petition will struggle to get the 10 percent of electors in Tasman”
For further information, please contact:
Mayor Richard Kempthorne, phone (03) 544 8082 or 027 223 4000
Dennis Bush-King, phone (03) 543 8430 or 0274 310 317
Working with other Top of the South councils and views on amalgamation
Tasman District Council works with others councils around the country and with Local Government New Zealand, sharing best practice and collaborating on issues.
Council’s primary dealings are with its adjacent Top of the South councils in Nelson and Marlborough. These links are particularly strong in that all three are unitary councils, where most other councils in New Zealand are city/district (territorial authority) or regional councils.
Council’s closest links are with Nelson City Council because of the many shared issues and services between them. Some of our activities and functions are inter-dependant. In some instances there are efficiency and economies of scale from cooperation and working together on projects or provision of services.
Joint Nelson City Council and Tasman District Council projects include:
• Saxton Field development
• Joint control/funding of Nelson Regional Economic Development Agency, Nelson Tasman Tourism, Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit, Tasman Bays Heritage Trust (Nelson museum), Nelson Airport
• The Treasured Pathway (also involving Marlborough District Council and other agencies)
• The Nelson Tasman Regional Arts Strategy
• Pest Management Strategy.
Both Councils libraries allow residents living in either district to use their services. The Councils are investigating further sharing of library services, where this will produce additional benefits for ratepayers.
Some new initiatives the Councils currently are investigating include public passenger transport options, preparing a combined Waste Management & Minimisation Plan, and the Waimea Estuary Management Plan. There are currently around 30 activities where the two Councils work collaboratively. Refer to pages 56-60 of Tasman District Council’s Ten Year Plan for details,
Tasman District Council sees benefits for the community in working closely with other councils and sharing services with them, particularly Nelson City Council. There are potential efficiencies to be gained or opportunities for the delivery of better and more effective services to our communities. The Council will consider working with Nelson City and other councils where such benefits can be obtained, without compromising the needs of the Tasman Community or the Council’s accountability back to its community.
Tasman District Council does not support any moves to seek amalgamation with Nelson City Council.
The results of the last local government elections indicates strong opposition to an enlarged Council dominated by an urban majority.
No money has been provided in either Council’s Long Term Community Plan for special studies on amalgamation, as there is a wealth of empirical evidence and research available to confirm that the shared services approach is the optimal solution.
Collaboration and co-operation avoids the trauma and costs of amalgamation and the loss of local decision-making, while still capturing all the benefits that are advantageous to the average ratepayer
The costs that would be incurred through amalgamation of Nelson and Tasman councils include:
• Losing the ability to represent the wider interests of the Tasman community, particularly the rural areas
• A loss of understanding of local circumstances and the needs and preferences of local communities through having a larger bureaucracy, possibly based in Nelson
• Potential increased costs for Tasman residents paying for facilities in Nelson City that they will use infrequently, if at all
• Potential reduction in emphasis on regional councils functions, like water and environmental management, biosecurity and biodiversity, due to the influence of more urban based councillors.
Also, Tasman District is one of the five largest councils in New Zealand by land area. Amalgamating the two Councils could lead to inefficiencies.
The Local Government Structure and Efficiency report prepared in October 2006 for Local Government New Zealand by McKinlay Douglas Limited provides interesting reading on amalgamation of councils both overseas and here in New Zealand. It states “Evidence…is at best equivocal on whether amalgamation has produced the promised gains in efficiency and cost effectiveness. The evidence does often suggest that costs may have exceeded benefits”. The report goes on to say that “Rather than economics of scale providing a rationale for amalgamation, the weight of evidence suggests both that larger authorities may be less efficient, and that the better means of seeking economies of scale is to do so on a service by service basis – whether through collaboration, joint ventures, outsourcing or other means”.
This view is supported by the Tasman District Council. We are interested in working with our neighbouring councils on shared services where they achieve overall benefits to our communities. We do not wish to pursue amalgamation with Nelson City, as we do not have a mandate for this from our community and we consider it would not be in the overall interests of our community to amalgamate. We believe in keeping the “local” in local government!
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