John Cronin BOP Regional Council Chairman www.envbop.govt.nz

Debate on a better governance structure is both good and essential. What is not so good is some of the uninformed or perhaps mischievous bias staking out a single council or a councilor's position.

I am very proud of our council, but we are different from a territorial council, particularly in form and function; in rivers and drainage, catchment management and environment protection – the scope going well beyond any territorial boundary and governed under the Resource Management Act and the Local Government Act.

I have written before, that in my opinion, local government is over governed and over regulated.
There is an ability for all the councils to make savings if we work together, but generally that means a council giving up some of its functions to another council. Be that a territorial council or a regional council – and that does not have to mean amalgamation or loss of autonomy.

But usually for agreement it is fine and agreeable, if it is the ‘other' council giving up some of their functions.

Now, whether that is by agreement, amalgamation, or by bigger councils or an overall new entity, that has to be a conversation with the community and I support that consultation. But that consultation needs to be for the right reasons.

For me personally, I want to do what is best for the Bay of Plenty and what is best for our ratepayers.

Many of the territorial councils in the Bay of Plenty have high debt, particularly Tauranga and Western Bay. The regional council does not have a high debt. I would contend that we are good financial managers.

The regional council has an interest in the Port of Tauranga, the dividends of which subsidise the ratepayers of the whole of the Bay of Plenty.

In 1989, in the last local government reform, we received (gifted) the Port shares, but with a big debt (since paid off), and Tauranga were gifted assets and land of about equal value as the region, with the other territorials also being gifted assets.

Tauranga had electricity interests, TrustPower shares, a contracting company and others, but sold all of them and has spent the cash.

In reflection, it would be an interesting exercise to reveal the value of those assets at the sale price and the value now if those assets now if they had been kept (particularly Trust Power) and the dividends that would have been received subsidising rates as the regional council has done all of this time.

If we are going to have further amalgamations, that conversation, that consultation with the community should be for the benefit of the community and not to protect any council's position with a knowledge of the past or an eye on the neighbour's assets.

Going forward, if there is to be reform, this reform must be for your benefit and with full public consultation.

So now let us put away the posturing and get down to discussing how we can do better to reduce the bureaucracy, to take out the costs to you the ratepayers. It can be done.

If you have a view on this or any other local government issue, I would be pleased to receive your comments. I invite you to email [email protected]