Porirua voters to have their say on region-wide council amalgamation

Thursday, 29 May 2025

Porirua voters will be asked whether or not they want their council to join forces with others around the region when they go to the polls at the local body elections this October.

The referendum, which won’t be binding, will be: “Should Porirua City Council work with councils in Wellington, the Hutt Valley, and the Wellington Regional Council to explore the possibility of creating one single council, that combines relevant services and functions regionally, while keeping appropriate local services and decision making local?”

Councillors voted 8-1 on Thursday to include the question on voting papers, which would be held concurrently with the council elections and a binding referendum on Porirua’s Māori ward. It is estimated it will cost $20,000.

Mayor Anita Baker, who first proposed the idea for the non-binding referendum in February, called the vote “democracy in action”.

“I get asked all the time as mayor what do I think. It’s actually what do our residents think,” she said.

The last time the region formally discussed amalgamation was in 2013 when the Greater Wellington Regional Council proposed incorporating the region's nine existing councils into a Wellington-based supercity. It was shot down by the Local Government Commission in 2015 over low public support, which cost Dame Fran Wilde her position of regional council chairperson.

Baker believed it was the right time to raise the question again because the local government environment had changed considerably since 2013. It would be up for the next council to follow up the results.

She also hoped the question would help increase voter turnout at the loca body elections.

“This referendum would provide an opportunity for the debate to be had in our city, and potentially across the region, and provide a good basis for future decision-making,” she said. “The future council would not be bound by this referendum, but it will provide a strong indication of residents’ support.”

Councillor Josh Trlin said the council needed some clear direction from residents on amalgamation.

“I really hope we get a decisive, clear indication from this referendum whichever way that it goes,” he said.

Councillor Kathleen Filo was open to discussing amalgamation but was against the non-binding referendum because it was a “stab in the dark”. “It does feel rushed and doing it during an election feels political,” she said.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau previously told The Post she was open to future conversations about amalgamation but it was not a current priority: “My current focus is working with regional councils on water reform.”

How did they vote

Ayes/Aē (8): Anita Baker, Kylie Wihapi, Izzy Ford, Geoff Hayward, Nathan Waddle, Mike Duncan, Ross Leggett, Josh Trlin

No/Kao (1): Kathleen Filo

Absent: Moze Galo, Tracy Johnson