Councils to decide whether Northland's local government proposal moves forward

This is a joint media release from the four Northland councils.

The Northland Elected Member Steering Group met this week and agreed to recommend a proposal for the future of local government in the region to Whangarei District Council, Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council.

The proposal sets out a staged transition to a single unitary authority for Northland. Under it, Whangarei and Kaipara district councils would initially combine into a single unitary authority, and Far North District Council would become a unitary authority on its own.

Whangarei and Far North district councils will meet next week to decide whether to approve the proposal and submit it to the Government by 9 August. Northland Regional Council will meet to consider endorsing it.

Kaipara District Council, which sits alongside the other three councils on the steering group, did not support it.

The Government's Head Start rules allow a proposal for local government reorganisation to cover a whole region when most of its district councils, or those representing most of its population, submit a proposal. This means that if Government agrees to it, the Kaipara district would be part of the new arrangements, despite not agreeing to it.

If the Government accepts the proposal, two unitary authorities and a shared regional entity delivering regional council functions would be established from the 2028 local elections. It would then move to a single Northland unitary authority within one to three electoral cycles, based on the achievement of agreed milestones.

Under the proposal, the Far North would become a unitary authority from 2028, retaining its existing community boards and Māori ward. The transition period would then be used to review and develop local arrangements, and to work through the details of further amalgamation alongside communities, hapū, iwi and the other Northland councils.

The Elected Member Steering Group acknowledged that Northland's councils had come together throughout the process with honest and robust discussion. While Kaipara has chosen not to support the proposal, the steering group appreciated its commitment to remain involved in the conversation, reflecting a genuinely Northland-led approach to shaping the region's future.

The Northland local government – a staged path to reform outline proposal has been published on the Far North District Council, Whangarei District Council, and Northland Regional Council websites.

Key features of the proposal

• A staged transition to a single Northland unitary authority as the region's long-term governance model.
• Two unitary authorities and a shared regional entity from the 2028 local elections – Whangarei and Kaipara district councils combining as one, Far North District Council on its own as the other.
• A move to a single Northland unitary authority within one to three electoral cycles after 2028, based on the achievement of agreed milestones.
• Northland Regional Council's support is conditional on the transition to a single unitary authority occurring within one electoral term, and on statutory regional council functions continuing to be delivered at the regional level during the transition.
• Far North District Council's existing community boards continuing under the Far North unitary authority, with local arrangements able to be reviewed and further developed during the detailed design phase.
• Each council able to honour the outcome of its own 2025 Māori ward referendum through the transition period.
• A reduction in duplication across the region, including 125 council policies reducing to between 35 and 45, 41 bylaws reducing to between 18 and 20, and four sets of long term plans and annual reports becoming one.
• Initial benchmarking suggesting a single Northland unitary authority could operate at between 8 and 22 per cent below the current combined cost of the four councils, most likely at the lower end of that range, with further analysis undertaken during the development of a detailed proposal beginning later this year.

Next steps

Whangarei and Far North district councils will meet next week to decide whether to approve the proposal and submit it to the Government by 9 August. Northland Regional Council will meet to consider endorsing it.

If the Government agrees to progress it, development of a detailed proposal and a full round of public consultation would follow from October, with a final proposal submitted to the Government in March. Cabinet would consider that proposal in May, and any new local government arrangements would begin at the 2028 local elections.