00:00:00
Speaker 1: Let's start by simplifying it.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: What is it, What exactly is this head start pathway and why are we talking about it now?
00:00:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, So the government's given us a bit of an ultimatum in local government, We've got three months to figure out how we want to organize ourselves. So there's been a bit of conversation during this simplifying local government reform about whether councils are as efficient as they can be and whether their representation is correct. So government said, look, we'll give you three months to put in a head start proposal and come up with an idea that suits you. As the Minister put it quite well, it's a blank canvas. So we can come up with whatever we like, whatever structure we like, and they will write special legislation if they agree with it, so that we can proceed on with it once they've had their election next year. I say three months, we've now got more like six weeks, so time is ticking very very quickly.
00:00:55
Speaker 2: And you've been quite clear this isn't a decision to merge. So what is the stage that we're getting into now all about?
00:01:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, so this is more about a couple of things. One, whether we do a head start proposal or not. So it is a voluntary process. We're not being forced into it. But if we don't take the opportunity, we will go into a backstop. It's a little bit different for us because we've got the local government commission process on which we'll touch on shortly. So really want to decide whether we want to do one or not. And then if we do, who we want to actually begin discussions with. Do we want to talk with our neighbors in South and An in Vericago or do we want to go across to our people that we're partnering with on waters and the Otagos. So whether it's kluther Es Centrally, Targo or even as far away as Waitucky.
00:01:40
Speaker 1: We can't go it alone.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: We we can't really not for the head start proposal. So you need to tear tooril authorities.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: So I'm quitetorial, certainly beative.
00:01:55
Speaker 3: So to put that in an English that means counseling.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: Damn it sit down again.
00:02:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you need at least two councils to sign up for a unitary authority and I can explain what that is as well. So, yeah, if we were to go on a line, we were to say no, thank you to the head start proposal, and we'd box.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: On which some people might want.
00:02:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, some people might want we're kind of rolling the dices to the government defining our future because we fall into the backstop process and then they'll say, well, this is what you're going to get.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: Instead, you get what you get and you don't get upset.
00:02:32
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.
00:02:35
Speaker 1: Let's planned backstop, isn't it literally?
00:02:37
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah yeah.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: So breaking down that unitary authority, Yeah, what is that?
00:02:43
Speaker 3: So, as many people have seen, the government is getting rid of regional councils, so the governance side of it. So what a unitary authority is is where the regional council, so the ones that look after the rivers by diversity, air quality and you know, like consenting on farms and things like that. That's a regional council. And then you have your district and city councils. So that's that's what I'm the mayor of.
00:03:10
Speaker 1: It's called the Good District Council.
00:03:12
Speaker 3: That's the one there you go, so you're onto it. So they do we do roads, you know, your drinking water, your parks, those sorts of things. So unitary authority is all of those functions in one council, So Nelson City, Tasman, Gisbon, Molborough they're already unitary authority. So government knows the model works, they quite like it, and they're like all councils across New Zealand to do both functions.
00:03:38
Speaker 1: That's starting to make a bit more sense talking about head.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: Start before we get into what it's really all about in terms of our future and what that could look like in their handful of options on the table ben. There's already a Local Government Commission review underway which sort of touched on before. How does that fit alongside the head Start program or how does the head Start program for alongside that?
00:04:04
Speaker 3: Probably, Yeah, A good way to think about it is it's kind of like train tracks. So this has explained. We had a Local Government Commission meeting yesterday with all of the councils. It's a bit like train tracks, so that they're happening in parallel. So the Local Government Commission process was kicked off by Southern District Council gosh for probably about eighteen months ago. Now we've slowly been going through this process, so they're looking at the reorganization options in South and under the current legislation, so there's legislation for councils to amalgamate and we're going through that process. So we're currently in phase two, which is looking at all of the options and deciding which ones we want to take forward to modeling. That will then eventually go to phase three and then to a referendum at the end as well, and people will get to vote on whether they want to change or whether they don't. That same requirement isn't there for head Start. Councilors can agree to do a head Start proposal and then they're on their way, so there's no need for referendum. That's the way that the Government's.
00:05:00
Speaker 2: So South and District Council hadn't put this in play eighteen months ago, ash, then we'd just be focusing on the head Start pathway.
00:05:08
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, exactly, Yeah, so it is it is extra complicated for us. Yeah, And that's where you have South and District councils who are very pro the two unitary option and we'll get into the option shortly as well. And then you have in a Cargo City who's very pro the one unit try, whereas US and Gore because we haven't really been in favor of either process. We kind of want to hear what the public have to say, and that's what we're doing the engagement at the moment.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: Yes, let's break that down, a Bert, talk me through those five broad options and sort of just the main key differences of each.
00:05:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, so what we're engaging at the moment is we've got five options. The first one is that we don't do a head start at all and we just carry on with the local government well backstop or carrying on with the local government commission process because that will follow through till about middle of next year is when things will start to wrap up. Option number one one. Option number two is the one unitary option. So that's all of Southend so Environment, South End, Gore District, Southend District and in the Cargo City all merging together. There's active conversations going on between the councils about how you manage that representation model, because we don't want everything being governed from in Vericago City, and to be honest, in Viicago City don't want that either. So it's how do you make that urban rural split work. Make sure there's enough councilors from each side.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: So that's also making sure we still have room for our community boards and things like that.
00:06:32
Speaker 3: Absolutely, yeah, yeah, And there's been lots of weird and wonderful models, like you know, community mayors, so you still have your meors in certain areas, but then they're part of a much bigger council. So you still have someone who's showing up to the prize givings and your tussit countries and how can we fashion awards that that sort of thing, Yeah, in this chit chat, in these chip chats exactly, because Southend is a huge land area to cover, so we need to look at representation models. So that's option two. Option three is the two unitary option, So that would be Invercargol City staying as they are, but taking on the regional council functions, and then Gore in southern districts merging and also taking on the regional council functions. So that would keep that urban rural split quite clear. But there are some things we need to work through around how do you split a regional council in two and make sure that all of the functions are paid for by all of the ratepayers, so it's a little bit tricking. You would have probably seen a bit of media around Robin tom So mess Scott and meyor Campbell having a bit of Rgi Bardie over the Already River and what they do there. So that's option two. Option three is a little bit more ambitious, which is looking over the border. We heard a lot that people wanted to see Gore and Kluth amalgamate, so anything into the Otago area can't be done through the Local Government Commission process, so this is our one chance through head start to look across the border. And we've said, look a predominantly rural council, so anywhere from Gore to South and to Cluth to Central Target to Waitaki could come together and then they also look after all the regional council functions and then contract that back to the cities. So a little bit more complicated, but if you wanted to keep a predominantly rural council.
00:08:21
Speaker 1: That's heaping cool. So now what do we need from the locals.
00:08:26
Speaker 3: Yes, so we want to hear your feedback. We really want to know what people think, So please jump on the council website, go do let's talk. Check your Antennao app and fill out the we survey that we've got there. We poll and that'll give us a bit of an indication of what people are thinking. The resources a option five which I almost forgot. It's going to circle back to that, which is another. So if you don't like any of the options and you have an amazing idea that we must hear, please write that in there as well. We'd love to hear your feedback. It's open for a couple of weeks. At this moment. It is a bit more about what you feel in your heart rather than what's in your head because we don't have modeling, no one around the country really does. Because it's such a short timeframe, we will get that to the people asap.
00:09:10
Speaker 2: There's plenty to think about, and again this is just the first step, not the final decision. If you do want to have your say, make sure you check out the Go District Council feedback page before submissions closed mid July. Been really appreciate your time and breaking it down for us this morning, and well good luck for the next stage.
00:09:28
Speaker 3: Thank you,
Speaker 1: Let's start by simplifying it.
00:00:02
Speaker 2: What is it, What exactly is this head start pathway and why are we talking about it now?
00:00:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, So the government's given us a bit of an ultimatum in local government, We've got three months to figure out how we want to organize ourselves. So there's been a bit of conversation during this simplifying local government reform about whether councils are as efficient as they can be and whether their representation is correct. So government said, look, we'll give you three months to put in a head start proposal and come up with an idea that suits you. As the Minister put it quite well, it's a blank canvas. So we can come up with whatever we like, whatever structure we like, and they will write special legislation if they agree with it, so that we can proceed on with it once they've had their election next year. I say three months, we've now got more like six weeks, so time is ticking very very quickly.
00:00:55
Speaker 2: And you've been quite clear this isn't a decision to merge. So what is the stage that we're getting into now all about?
00:01:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, so this is more about a couple of things. One, whether we do a head start proposal or not. So it is a voluntary process. We're not being forced into it. But if we don't take the opportunity, we will go into a backstop. It's a little bit different for us because we've got the local government commission process on which we'll touch on shortly. So really want to decide whether we want to do one or not. And then if we do, who we want to actually begin discussions with. Do we want to talk with our neighbors in South and An in Vericago or do we want to go across to our people that we're partnering with on waters and the Otagos. So whether it's kluther Es Centrally, Targo or even as far away as Waitucky.
00:01:40
Speaker 1: We can't go it alone.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: We we can't really not for the head start proposal. So you need to tear tooril authorities.
00:01:51
Speaker 1: So I'm quitetorial, certainly beative.
00:01:55
Speaker 3: So to put that in an English that means counseling.
00:01:59
Speaker 1: Damn it sit down again.
00:02:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, so you need at least two councils to sign up for a unitary authority and I can explain what that is as well. So, yeah, if we were to go on a line, we were to say no, thank you to the head start proposal, and we'd box.
00:02:15
Speaker 1: On which some people might want.
00:02:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, some people might want we're kind of rolling the dices to the government defining our future because we fall into the backstop process and then they'll say, well, this is what you're going to get.
00:02:29
Speaker 1: Instead, you get what you get and you don't get upset.
00:02:32
Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, that's a good way of putting it.
00:02:35
Speaker 1: Let's planned backstop, isn't it literally?
00:02:37
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah yeah.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: So breaking down that unitary authority, Yeah, what is that?
00:02:43
Speaker 3: So, as many people have seen, the government is getting rid of regional councils, so the governance side of it. So what a unitary authority is is where the regional council, so the ones that look after the rivers by diversity, air quality and you know, like consenting on farms and things like that. That's a regional council. And then you have your district and city councils. So that's that's what I'm the mayor of.
00:03:10
Speaker 1: It's called the Good District Council.
00:03:12
Speaker 3: That's the one there you go, so you're onto it. So they do we do roads, you know, your drinking water, your parks, those sorts of things. So unitary authority is all of those functions in one council, So Nelson City, Tasman, Gisbon, Molborough they're already unitary authority. So government knows the model works, they quite like it, and they're like all councils across New Zealand to do both functions.
00:03:38
Speaker 1: That's starting to make a bit more sense talking about head.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: Start before we get into what it's really all about in terms of our future and what that could look like in their handful of options on the table ben. There's already a Local Government Commission review underway which sort of touched on before. How does that fit alongside the head Start program or how does the head Start program for alongside that?
00:04:04
Speaker 3: Probably, Yeah, A good way to think about it is it's kind of like train tracks. So this has explained. We had a Local Government Commission meeting yesterday with all of the councils. It's a bit like train tracks, so that they're happening in parallel. So the Local Government Commission process was kicked off by Southern District Council gosh for probably about eighteen months ago. Now we've slowly been going through this process, so they're looking at the reorganization options in South and under the current legislation, so there's legislation for councils to amalgamate and we're going through that process. So we're currently in phase two, which is looking at all of the options and deciding which ones we want to take forward to modeling. That will then eventually go to phase three and then to a referendum at the end as well, and people will get to vote on whether they want to change or whether they don't. That same requirement isn't there for head Start. Councilors can agree to do a head Start proposal and then they're on their way, so there's no need for referendum. That's the way that the Government's.
00:05:00
Speaker 2: So South and District Council hadn't put this in play eighteen months ago, ash, then we'd just be focusing on the head Start pathway.
00:05:08
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, exactly, Yeah, so it is it is extra complicated for us. Yeah, And that's where you have South and District councils who are very pro the two unitary option and we'll get into the option shortly as well. And then you have in a Cargo City who's very pro the one unit try, whereas US and Gore because we haven't really been in favor of either process. We kind of want to hear what the public have to say, and that's what we're doing the engagement at the moment.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: Yes, let's break that down, a Bert, talk me through those five broad options and sort of just the main key differences of each.
00:05:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, so what we're engaging at the moment is we've got five options. The first one is that we don't do a head start at all and we just carry on with the local government well backstop or carrying on with the local government commission process because that will follow through till about middle of next year is when things will start to wrap up. Option number one one. Option number two is the one unitary option. So that's all of Southend so Environment, South End, Gore District, Southend District and in the Cargo City all merging together. There's active conversations going on between the councils about how you manage that representation model, because we don't want everything being governed from in Vericago City, and to be honest, in Viicago City don't want that either. So it's how do you make that urban rural split work. Make sure there's enough councilors from each side.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: So that's also making sure we still have room for our community boards and things like that.
00:06:32
Speaker 3: Absolutely, yeah, yeah, And there's been lots of weird and wonderful models, like you know, community mayors, so you still have your meors in certain areas, but then they're part of a much bigger council. So you still have someone who's showing up to the prize givings and your tussit countries and how can we fashion awards that that sort of thing, Yeah, in this chit chat, in these chip chats exactly, because Southend is a huge land area to cover, so we need to look at representation models. So that's option two. Option three is the two unitary option, So that would be Invercargol City staying as they are, but taking on the regional council functions, and then Gore in southern districts merging and also taking on the regional council functions. So that would keep that urban rural split quite clear. But there are some things we need to work through around how do you split a regional council in two and make sure that all of the functions are paid for by all of the ratepayers, so it's a little bit tricking. You would have probably seen a bit of media around Robin tom So mess Scott and meyor Campbell having a bit of Rgi Bardie over the Already River and what they do there. So that's option two. Option three is a little bit more ambitious, which is looking over the border. We heard a lot that people wanted to see Gore and Kluth amalgamate, so anything into the Otago area can't be done through the Local Government Commission process, so this is our one chance through head start to look across the border. And we've said, look a predominantly rural council, so anywhere from Gore to South and to Cluth to Central Target to Waitaki could come together and then they also look after all the regional council functions and then contract that back to the cities. So a little bit more complicated, but if you wanted to keep a predominantly rural council.
00:08:21
Speaker 1: That's heaping cool. So now what do we need from the locals.
00:08:26
Speaker 3: Yes, so we want to hear your feedback. We really want to know what people think, So please jump on the council website, go do let's talk. Check your Antennao app and fill out the we survey that we've got there. We poll and that'll give us a bit of an indication of what people are thinking. The resources a option five which I almost forgot. It's going to circle back to that, which is another. So if you don't like any of the options and you have an amazing idea that we must hear, please write that in there as well. We'd love to hear your feedback. It's open for a couple of weeks. At this moment. It is a bit more about what you feel in your heart rather than what's in your head because we don't have modeling, no one around the country really does. Because it's such a short timeframe, we will get that to the people asap.
00:09:10
Speaker 2: There's plenty to think about, and again this is just the first step, not the final decision. If you do want to have your say, make sure you check out the Go District Council feedback page before submissions closed mid July. Been really appreciate your time and breaking it down for us this morning, and well good luck for the next stage.
00:09:28
Speaker 3: Thank you,
