Written questions

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  Were there any differences between what the Independent Reference Group recommended the policy design features of a rates cap should be and what was outlined in his 1 December 2025 press release; if so, what were all the differences?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  Has the Minister received any advice about the impact of a proposed rates cap on the Regional Infrastructure Fund; if so, what are all the impacts the advice canvassed and on what dates was any such advice received?

Asked by

Mike Davidson

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  Has the Minister directly communicated with the Minister for Regional Development about how a proposed rates cap could impact the Regional Infrastructure Fund; if so, what were all the canvassed impacts and on what dates did any such…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  How many councils' water services are contracted to Veolia, if any?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What evidence, if any, does he rely on that amalgamating councils into larger unitary authorities reduces costs to ratepayers, and does that evidence include a post-implementation review of the 2010 Auckland Council amalgamation?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What risks were identified in the Regulatory Impact Statement or other Cabinet papers prepared before the Government agreed to the Head Start and Back Stop processes announced in May 2026, if any?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many councils, if any, have deferred or paused infrastructure investment, borrowing or long-term plan decisions because of uncertainty created by the Head Start process, and what assessment, if any, has he made of the cost of that…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many letters, emails or formal submissions, if any, has he received from mayors, councillors or councils raising concerns about the Head Start process since 1 May 2026?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What analysis, if any, has been undertaken of the interaction between council amalgamations and the water services entities established under Local Water Done Well, and how many water services delivery plans, if any, will need to be…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What advice, if any, has he received from the Electoral Commission, the Local Government Commission or Local Government New Zealand on the risk to the conduct of the October 2028 local elections of finalising boundaries and representation…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What legislation, if any, will be required to give effect to council amalgamations, when will it be introduced, will it be referred to a select committee for public submissions, and under what circumstances, if any, does he anticipate it…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What appeal, review or judicial oversight rights, if any, will a council or its residents have if Cabinet declines its Head Start proposal or imposes a different structure through the Back Stop process?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many councils, if any, does he expect to have their structure determined through the Back Stop process, and what opportunity, if any, will residents of those districts have to make submissions on the outcome?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What criteria, if any, will Cabinet apply when deciding by the end of September 2026 which Head Start proposals progress to detailed design, and will those criteria be published before that decision is made?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many regional council staff, if any, does he estimate will be required to transfer, be redeployed or be made redundant as regional councils are disestablished, and what workforce transition planning, if any, is under way?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What assessment, if any, has been made of the loss of regional-scale capability in flood protection, catchment management, biosecurity and environmental monitoring arising from the abolition of regional councils, and what advice, if any,…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many Māori wards or Māori constituencies, if any, will be affected by the proposed new unitary authorities, and what guarantee, if any, is there that Māori representation will be maintained?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many iwi, hapū and post-settlement governance entities, if any, were consulted on Head Start proposals before the 9 August 2026 deadline, and what advice, if any, has he received on whether that engagement discharges the Crown's Treaty…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What assessment, if any, has been made of the effect of amalgamation and the abolition of regional councils on existing Treaty settlement co-governance and co-management arrangements, and how many such arrangements, if any, will require…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What assessment, if any, has been made of the change in the ratio of elected members to residents in each proposed new unitary authority, and in how many cases, if any, will rural or small-district representation be reduced?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What rights, if any, do residents and ratepayers have to petition for or demand a binding poll on an amalgamation affecting their district under the Head Start or Back Stop processes, and how do those rights compare with those available…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What public opinion research, if any, has the Government commissioned on public support for council amalgamation?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many staff positions across local government, if any, does he estimate will be disestablished as a result of amalgamations taking effect from the October 2028 local elections?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What financial assistance, if any, will the Government provide to councils to meet transition costs, and will any such assistance be available to councils placed in the Back Stop process?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What estimate, if any, does he have of the one-off transition costs of establishing each new unitary authority, and what estimate, if any, does he have of the equivalent transition cost of the 2010 Auckland amalgamation in today's dollars?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How much, if any, has the Crown spent on the Head Start and Back Stop processes to date, including departmental staffing, contractors and consultants, and what is the forecast total cost through to the October 2028 local elections?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What estimate, if any, does he have of the total cost incurred by councils in preparing Head Start proposals between May and August 2026, including consultants, legal advice, external analysis and staff time, and how are those costs being…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Why did the Government not establish a Royal Commission or equivalent independent inquiry before requiring councils to propose amalgamations, given that a Royal Commission preceded the 2010 Auckland reorganisation?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Why was the Local Government Commission not made the lead agency for the Head Start process, given its central role in the 1989 nationwide local government reforms?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What assessment, if any, has been made of the effect on ratepayers in lower-debt councils of merging with higher-debt neighbours, and of the harmonisation of rates and debt across new unitary authorities?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What analysis, if any, has he commissioned or received on the projected effect of amalgamation on rates in each affected district, and will he release it before Cabinet makes decisions in September 2026?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What advice, if any, did he receive from the Department of Internal Affairs on the adequacy of a three-month timeframe for councils to develop Head Start amalgamation proposals, and on what date did he receive it?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What weight, if any, will he give to a formal statement by a council — such as Ashburton District Council's advice to the Government that 90 days was insufficient to reach consensus — that it will not accept being folded into another…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many councils, if any, have been named in a Head Start proposal submitted by another council without that council's agreement, and which councils are they?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Why does the Head Start process require only majority support across affected councils rather than unanimous agreement, and how many proposals, if any, have been submitted to him despite one or more affected councils voting against them?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many competing or overlapping Head Start proposals, if any, has he received that cover the same district or city, and by what criteria will he decide between them?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many of the councils that did not submit a Head Start proposal by 9 August 2026, if any, gave insufficient time as a reason for not doing so, and which councils were they?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many regions, if any, produced a single agreed Head Start proposal covering the whole region by 9 August 2026, and does he consider the process to have succeeded in those regions that did not?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How many councils, if any, submitted a Head Start proposal by the 9 August 2026 deadline under the local government reform process announced in May 2026, how many were eligible to do so, and how many did not submit?

Asked by

Teanau Tuiono

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  What correspondence, if any, including letters, emails, text messages, WhatsApp messages, Signal messages, or any other form of written or electronic communication, has the Minister or any member of the Minister’s office sent or received…

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  What papers, if any, did the Minister take to Cabinet during the week beginning 03/08/2026, by title and date?

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  What work-related material, if anything, have staff within the office of the Minister for Local Government sent to or received from lobbying groups using a non-work (e.g. personal or business) email address during this term of Government?

Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

• (matches this search)

  What work-related material, if anything, has the Minister for Local Government sent to or received from lobbying groups using a non-work (e.g. personal or business) email address during this term of Government?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  How will decisions on future City and Regional Deals be sequenced against the local government reorganisation timetable running to the 2028 local elections, if at all?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Which regions, if any, have been advised that they are not eligible for a City and Regional Deal, and on what grounds?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What advice has been received on whether further City and Regional Deals should be signed before the general election on 7 November 2026, and what convention applies to entering long-term intergovernmental agreements during the…

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What estimate does the Government hold of the fiscal cost of extending City and Regional Deals to every region in New Zealand, if any?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  Why does the South Island have only one region in the first tranche of City and Regional Deals, and what assessment has been made of the geographic distribution of the programme, if any?

Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

• (matches this search)

  What is the current status of any proposal for a City and Regional Deal covering Christchurch and Canterbury, Wellington, Waikato, Northland, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Taranaki, Nelson-Tasman, Marlborough, the West Coast, Southland…