‘No option’: Waimate mayor addresses large community meeting over Government’s amalgamation proposal

Friday, 15 May 2026

Waimate’s mayor was highly critical of the Government’s 90-day deadline for forming amalgamation proposals, but says the council will have no choice but to engage if its neighbours join the ‘Head Start’ process.

On May 5, the Government announced its Head Start initiative to streamline councils, and gave councils three months to submit proposals to amalgamate, or said it would step in and do it for them.

At the time, Waimate mayor Craig Rowley said the time frame was “ludicrous” and called for an urgent public meeting.

About 350 people packed into the Waimate Event Centre for that meeting on Thursday night, with more than 100 joining online.

Rowley and the council’s chief executive Stuart Duncan spoke about the process, before members of the community were given the chance to speak.

“Change now appears to be inevitable, but let’s be honest, a 90-day deadline for a decision of this magnitude is absolutely ludicrous,” Rowley said.

“We are talking about the future structure of local government. The services you rely on and how your community is represented. This shouldn’t be rushed, but it’s the position we are in.”

Rowley said if two of three councils in a region represented more than 50% of the population, they could jointly submit a proposal that would affect the third council.

“So, if Timaru and Mackenzie District councils have already signalled they will be moving into the Head Start process, that means Waimate has no option but to engage,” he said.

“This means being at the table, protecting Waimate’s interests and ensuring no decisions are made without us. To put it plainly, if we’re not on the table, we’re on the menu.”

Rowley said the council would advocate for a model that retained local decision-making, not just centralised control.

Rowley said the meeting was not about making a decision, but about hearing from the community.

“Your input matters. It’s not just tonight but throughout this process.”

St Andrews resident Bern Sommerfeld said the Government was coming down on councils and he believed it was an attempt to “railroad” councils.

“I think we should say no to the Government.

“My personal view is Waimate District Council is a very efficient council. You have excellent staff … they know what they are doing and they get the job done.”

Sommerfeld said if Waimate was forced to amalgamate with the adjoining councils, he would be concerned about efficiency.

“One of our adjoining councils is not capable of planning a public toilet in a public space, and the other council they have similar problems like that.”

Another resident Stuart Craib said he hoped the Government would get enough backlash to backtrack on the initiative, and said rates increases at neighbouring councils were “shocking”.

“If they don’t, Craig [Rowley] is right, you need to be at the table. Because if you are not at the table you have no say and no control at all.”

John Dyer asked what choices the council would have if it was forced to amalgamate, and the potential impact on rates.

Rowley said those were the conversations the council had to start, to work out what was best for the district.

Dr William Rolleston, of Blue Cliff Station, asked Rowley to outline the pros and cons of the proposal.

Rowley said the cons included a lack of representation, lack of voice and the additional burden on ratepayers if they were part of bigger entity, while the pros included efficiencies such as reducing staff.

Rowley said the Government was pushing for a simplification of rules and standardisation across the country, and he had no issue with that.

Waimte resident and businessman Gary Rooney supported amalgamation and urged the community to look at the facts.

“Some of us actually agree that amalgamation would be a good thing,” Rooney said.

“When you are one of the smallest communities and councils in the country, it’s pretty hard to go forward with confidence.

“People have talked about the cost where we will end up subsidising other areas. That’s just a joke. People need to get their head out of the sand.”

Rooney said the district’s total rate take was $18 million and it was spending $7m of that on staff costs which didn’t leave much.

“You have one of the biggest areas in the country to perform over.

“The fact that if you think that you are going to amalgamate with Timaru and subsidise them … that’s just being silly.

“At the end of the day, Timaru will subsidise this region and they’ll subsidise this region heavily.”

Rooney said conversations on amalgamation had been ongoing since 1990.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been given 90 days to get things in place, you’ve had 20 or 30 years to get this sorted.”

Another resident questioned why MP for Waitaki Miles Anderson was not present at the meeting.

Rowley said the council was told Anderson could not attend because he was travelling back from Wellington.