Although the discussion should be welcomed, there is a danger that the debate over local body reform in Northland may become mired in parochial self-interest and lose sight of the fact that local government exists to serve local communities. It is public interest that should come first, not the interests of local body representatives.

Two possibilities for reform have been mooted to date. The first is one “super-city” council, combining the Northland Regional Council and the Kaipara, Far North, and Whangarei district councils into a single unitary authority.

The second is devolving the responsibilities of the Northland Regional Council into the local authorities which will remain intact.

A number of issues arise from these proposals:

· The continued representation of the various and diverse communities in Northland, presumably via community boards.

· Whether there are to be dedicated race-based seats.

· Whether, in the case of a single unitary authority, there will be a single rate in the dollar or a range of rating differentials to avoid cross subsidy from say the Whangarei ratepayers to those in the Far North.

· How regulatory independence would be maintained to avoid the potential conflicts of a council being an applicant, a consenting authority and the regulatory authority on resource consent matters. One possible solution would be to transfer the consenting and regulatory roles to an independent agency such as the soon-to-be-established Environmental Protection Agency.

· How local ratepayers are to be consulted on any changes. Will the councils, for example, put any agreed changes to a local ratepayer referendum?

These are the key issues that local representatives should address when proposing changes to local representation.