Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz

This Friday the Local Government Commission is hearing verbal submission for appeals and objections against the council's representation decision.

The commission is in charge now. It will be listening to 19 appeals or objections. Apart from one person who agreed with council, all the other 96 written submissions challenged the change from five to three wards, which was to be achieved by amalgamating Te Puke with Maketu and Waihi Beach with Katikati. As there was only one supporter of the council's decision the community board chairs were asked to speak in support of the council decision.

The commission's role is normally to provide advice for councils, but in these hearings the commission can make such enquiries as it considers appropriate and may hold other meetings with interested parties to determine their own view and whether or not council is meeting its obligations under the Local Government Act, This could be a difficult job. Nearly all of the submissions supported a status quo, thinking that the council should stay with five wards and 12 councillors. The council's decision to amalgamate and have three wards and eleven councillors was their idea of a status quo, which had been decided in a workshop session before the public consultation started. The bemused and uninformed public was actually saying we would rather stay with the devil we know than trust the council's vague and wooly planning decision.

The Local Government will make its decision after this next stage. Are you or your organisations ready to discuss and have positive ideas for the commission on how council should be changed when it may come knocking on your door? The whole process has to be over by March next year, ready for the elections later in the year.