Tauranga City Council has lodged a solo proposal to create a new unitary authority governing the city and surrounding Western Bay of Plenty District.

That was despite Western Bay of Plenty District Council being an unwilling partner, and Tauranga’s proposal not meeting Government eligibility criteria requiring at least one other council in support.

Submissions for the Government’s Head Start process for reforming local government closed on Sunday.

Tauranga’s bid to create a Western Bay of Plenty unitary authority is among 18 Head Start submissions being assessed by officials, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Local Government Minister Simon Watts said in a statement today.

As was Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne district councils’ joint proposal to form an Eastern Bay of Plenty unitary authority.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council voted 6-4 on Thursday not to participate in a Head Start proposal with Tauranga.

Tauranga voted to submit the proposal anyway, but hit a snag when it could not find another council to join its proposal.

Rotorua Lakes Council voted against that on Friday, with some councillors reluctant to force Western Bay into a proposal with Tauranga.

The Eastern Bay councils submitted their proposal after Western Bay pulled out.

Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting from China today, Mahé Drysdale said Tauranga submitted its application before the deadline, noting that it was not compliant.

He said the council believed it was better to make a Head Start proposal than wait for the Government’s Backstop reform process.

He said it was disappointing that Western Bay had not supported a joint proposal.

“The work we’ve done with Western Bay, I felt we’d solved the key issues.”

These were about the city council’s high debt and concerns about ensuring local representation.

“We’d come up with solutions to be able to solve those two issues … I thought we’d come to a pretty good place.”

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale says it was disappointing that Western Bay had not supported a joint proposal. Photo / Brydie Thompson

He said an agreement may have been reached if they had more time.

He said, despite not reaching an agreement, the two councils worked well together.

“We’ll continue to work well together as this reform progresses.”

Drysdale confirmed in a media release yesterday the council had submitted its work on the Head Start proposal “to continue the conversation and allow time to explore alternative options”.

He said Head Start gave councils the best opportunity to design their own future, but this was looking less likely for Tauranga.

The city would “likely” end up in Backstop.

“Current indications suggest that could result in a Bay-wide unitary authority, which was not the preferred option expressed through any of the community engagement across the region.”

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer. Photo / Alex Cairns

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor James Denyer said Tauranga’s decision to submit the proposal was no surprise.

“They’re putting it in knowing that it doesn’t fully meet the requirements.

“It’s really just down to the Government to make its decision now.”

What’s next

Bishop and Watts’ statement said officials would assess the 18 proposals received and provide advice to ministers.

Cabinet will decide in September which proposals to progress to detailed design. These proposals would need to be submitted by March, for another Cabinet decision.

Those accepted will be implemented before the October 2028 local body elections.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop (left) and Local Government Minister Simon Watts. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Backstop process will start after the local body elections for any councils reformed through Head Start.

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.