Ōpōtiki Māori ward councillor Curley Keno was the only Eastern Bay district councillor to vote against submitting an amalgamation proposal, in what she described as a “gun-to-the-head scenario”.
Ōpōtiki District Council voted last week to approve an outline Head Start proposal for an Eastern Bay unitary council, alongside Whakatāne and Kawerau district councils.
Keno told Local Democracy Reporting she based the decision on feedback she had received from her community.
“My vote against the Head Start proposal wasn’t a vote against exploring an Eastern Bay of Plenty model, because by far it was the best of the bad options,” she said.
“It was a decision based on the process we were put through by central government and the feedback I had received from our community.”
She said councillors had been put in a very difficult position.
“It was a bit of a damned if we do, damned if we don’t situation, or as I’ve described it, a gun-to-the-head scenario.
“The Government gave us a ridiculously tight timeframe, with the August 9 deadline, and I don’t believe that allowed for meaningful community engagement on something this significant that comes with consequences.
“We were working with a lot of assumptions, unclear information and options that, quite frankly, were clear as mud.
“We also had to consider the pressure on our staff, unbudgeted costs, potential future increased costs and, importantly, how we protect a strong local voice for our Ōpōtiki rohe.”
Keno said she had considered feedback received through Ōpōtiki District Council’s online survey, conversations with the community and the 369-signature petition presented at the August 4 meeting at which the decision was made.
“What I heard was that people did not want amalgamation. Some even said, ‘give the crown the middle finger’, but if we were forced into it there was support for an Eastern Bay of Plenty model.
“That feedback mattered to me.”
Keno said she struggled with the “rushed process” councils were forced into by central government, which held no certainty that proposals would be accepted.
She acknowledged the “huge amount of mahi” the mayor, councillors, chief executive and staff had put into the proposal.
“Going into the vote, I actually banked on the Head Start proposal securing the majority.
“I understood why people supported it and I believed there was a strong case for the model.
“But ultimately I had to make my own decision based on the information available to me and, most importantly, the feedback I was hearing from our community.
“My ‘No’ vote was about saying that decisions this important need time, proper information and genuine community engagement. If reform is going to happen, I believe it needs to be done with our communities, not to them.”
Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop this week confirmed 18 Head Start proposals had been received.
“Head Start was set up because many local councils told us there was a desire to get on with simplifying and streamlining local government in light of the government’s wider planning reforms,” Mr Bishop said.
Approved plans will be signed off in 2027, with the changes expected to take effect from the 2028 local elections.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
