Tauranga City Council has been left at the altar by its proposed amalgamation partner, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

But resistance to the union may prove futile, with Tauranga agreeing to push ahead with a proposal without its neighbour’s support.

The two councils held a five-hour joint meeting in the Western Bay chambers today to discuss submitting an outline proposal through the Government’s Head Start local government reform process.

The application deadline is Sunday.

Tauranga councillors first voted in favour of pursuing the creation of a new joint unitary authority covering the Tauranga and Western Bay areas, as part of a wider Bay of Plenty application.

A unitary authority includes district/city and regional council functions.

Their Western Bay counterparts then voted 6-4 against this, opting instead for the Government-led Backstop reform process.

Tauranga reconfirmed, in an 8-2 vote, that it would stick with its plan.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the city would join other Bay of Plenty councils in proposing to create three new subregional unitary authorities: Eastern Bay (Whakatāne, Kawerau and Ōpōtiki); Western Bay (Tauranga and Western Bay); and Rotorua.

“As of today, five of the six councils support that, and Western Bay will be dragged into it,” Drysdale told the Bay of Plenty Times.

He said it was always going to be a close vote for Western Bay: “That’s democracy for you”.

Drysdale believed forming a unitary council was the right thing for the subregion and would “deliver significant benefits for all that live here”.

He understood Bay of Plenty was the first region to find a solution that “works for everyone” and expected the application would be well-received by Cabinet.

Western Bay Mayor James Denyer and Deputy Mayor Margaret Murray-Benge backed the proposal.

Denyer told Local Democracy Reporting he was disappointed his council’s vote ultimately went the other way.

“It is inevitable that we’ll end up with Tauranga in one way or another.”

Murray-Benge told the meeting she deeply regretted “that it has come to this”.

“This is a complete failure on the part of Western Bay.”

The debate: What Tauranga councillors said

Steve Morris said not coming to an agreement and going with Backstop would fail the community.

Drysdale said the application was “a start line”.

“Let’s redesign it, let’s build it from the ground up.”

Hemi Rolleston said it was an opportunity to “build a new whare” and create something new together rather than focusing on merging.

Glen Crowther abstained from the initial vote on merging to see what the Western Bay decided.

He said the two councils did not trust each other.

Crowther and Kevin Schuler later voted against going ahead without Western Bay’s support.

What Western Bay of Plenty councillors said

Rodney Joyce said forming an arrangement has been painful, comparing it to “laying an egg”.

He said the Government’s 90-day Head Start application deadline was too short, adding “we don’t know what the Backstop would bring”.

Graeme Elvin said he wore a black suit to show his concern for the demise of democracy.

He said he favoured amalgamation but not how the Government was doing it.

He did not support agreeing to form a partnership now and figuring out the details later on.

“The devil is in the detail. I want to sit down and work out the issues.”

Murray-Benge said she wanted to see the councils build trust in each other.

Western Bay of Plenty councillor Tracey Coxhead (left) and Deputy Mayor Margaret Murray-Benge. Photo / Ayla Yeoman

“We’re all equal round this table.”

Standing to address the two councils, she said this was the most important decision they would make.

“We have a responsibility to our ratepayers.”

Denyer said the community supported a subregional unitary authority.

He believed the biggest issues, debt and representation, could be resolved.

He preferred the councils to be in charge of their own destiny.

Tracey Coxhead said she was not comfortable with feedback she had heard or the city council’s high debt levels, and was concerned smaller communities would lose their voices.

“Our two councils are not entirely aligned in our values and objectives.”

Shane Beech said the 90 days was not long enough to do meaningful community engagement.

He said the two councils had differing priorities, including urban versus rural priorities.

“I do not believe the council should be making decisions out of fear of government intervention.”

Laura Rae said she struggled to see how a merger benefited ratepayers.

“Bigger doesn’t always mean better.”

Allan Sole said he did not agree with shaping an organisation then trying to make all the details fit.

He said the two areas had little in common “besides geographically”.

“We need to dot a few more i’s and cross a few more t’s. Honestly, I think we’re so damn close.”

Darlene Dinsdale said she would vote in favour as it set a plan and direction.

Other Bay of Plenty councils

Kawerau, Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki district councils each voted this week to pursue creating an Eastern Bay subregional unitary council – though with reluctance.

Whakatāne Mayor Nandor Tanczos, Kawerau Mayor Faylene Tunui and Ōpōtiki Mayor David Moore – the Eastern Bay councils are pursuing their own unitary authority.

Rotorua Lakes Council will meet today to finalise its approach, but has backed the three-unitary model.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council cannot participate in a Head Start application.

It was set to discuss its response to local councils’ plans in a meeting yesterday, but elected to wait for the Tauranga/Western Bay meeting to finish.

What’s next?

Cabinet will assess Head Start applications and announce which ones will progress next month.

Final proposals would be due March 2027, with subsequent decisions expected in May.

If proposals were declined or a council opted for the Backstop pathway, this process would begin after the 2028 local elections.

Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.

Additional reporting by Samantha Motion of the Bay of Plenty Times and Mathew Nash of Local Democracy Reporting.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.