Head Start
The Government has introduced a Head Start pathway as part of its local government reform programme. This gives councils an opportunity to start talks about how local government could be set up in the future, including combining councils into new unitary authorities.
The Government is asking councils to put forward their own ideas before 9 August. If this doesn't happen, the Government will develop its own proposals. In all cases, central government will make the final decisions.
Masterton District Council is talking to the other Wairarapa councils as well as with the councils across the Wellington region to scope what a new model might look like.
These discussions include how we combine local government reform with the priorities of the Masterton District.
Joining the conversation
Given the tight timeframe for the Head Start pathway, we have moved quickly to develop a proposal. An online survey was run to gather community views on priorities such as local decision-making, services, and representation. The survey closed on Friday 19 June and received 559 responses.
A summary of this feedback is available below.
Next Steps
Councillors are now considering the Wairarapa Independent Benchmarking Assessment alongside the community feedback. A second benchmarking assessment for a wider Wellington unitary authority is expected by mid-July, with financial modelling to follow later in July.
Once this information is available, councillors will assess all options before agreeing whether to develop a proposal for Government as part of the Head Start pathway.
Submissions are due by 9 August. Due to these time constraints, there is no opportunity for formal consultation. The earlier survey was used to ensure community input could still inform the process.
Additional documents will be published here as they become available.
Wairarapa Independent Benchmarking Assessment
Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa District Councils have commissioned this independent benchmarking assessment from Morrison Low Advisory to help inform our thinking about the future of local government in the Wairarapa. The report finds that a Wairarapa unitary authority - one council delivering both district and regional services across our three communities - could be operationally feasible and may deliver services at a lower overall cost than current arrangements.
However, it also finds that losing the financial contribution currently made by Wellington urban ratepayers to our regional services would likely mean local rates would need to increase, even if overall service costs fell.
This report is one piece of a larger picture. A separate assessment which examines what feasible options might be available for a Wellington regional structure is currently underway. This also includes a Wairarapa-only option as part of it.
We will consider both reports together before drawing any conclusions or making recommendation on which model best serves the needs of Masterton. We are committed to being open about what the evidence tells us and to giving our communities a genuine opportunity to say what matters most to them before any decisions about any model we might submit to government under the Head Start pathway are made.
A second independent benchmarking assessment will also explore the option of a Wairarapa/Wellington regional model. While the final report is not due until the end of June, we have received an update outlining the scope of this work and indicative timeframes. Once this report has been received, alongside the Wairarapa unitary authority benchmarking assessment from Morrison Low and feedback from our community, we will begin to explore the findings and start drawing conclusions to inform our submission to the Head Start pathway. You can find a copy of the update below.
