John Forbes Opotiki Mayor

I just hung up the phone from a great chat with the Wairoa Mayor, Craig Little, and he is really concerned about the impacts of Hawke's Bay amalgamation process on the town of Wairoa and surrounds.

I share his concerns both as a Mayor of a small district and as the Rural Sector Chair for LGNZ.

Under changes proposed through the Local Government Commission process, Wairoa would still have a Mayor and a Council, but they would be based far to the south in Napier.

And it is not just the physical distance that will make a difference for Wairoa locals – it is the amount of focus and priority that the community would have when competing for attention from larger places like Napier and Hastings.

The infrastructure that a town relies on requires a substantial amount of TLC and investment just to keep it ticking.

Take a look at any district council annual plan to see the level of funding required just to keep our sewers, roads, water pipes and other key infrastructure operational.

I compare it to home maintenance.

If you live in a house and you know that the roof needs painting, you'll just get on and paint your roof because you know it needs doing and is best in the long term.

But if you need to meet with the whole street to decide what home maintenance gets done on which house and when, your roof might not get painted for years, if at all!

Small communities need to consider the benefits of a local council with a targeted and local focus and weigh it against the benefits of a larger amalgamated structure for local government.

We'll continue to watch the Hawke's Bay situation closely.