NZ Local Government Reform: Regional councils axed, CTBs proposed

The reforms are quite radical and inextricably linked to the Government's reform of the Resource Management Act. A proposal is now out for consultation which sets out the changes.

The major one involves axing regional councils as entities in their own right, including showing the door to newly elected regional councillors.

Instead, the functions of the regional councils will be governed by a panel known as Combined Territories Boards (CTBs).

The Minister of RMA Reform Chris Bishop says the Government's preference is that the CTBs would consist of the mayors of the respective district councils in the region.

But in the consultative paper put out by the Government, there is an option for a Crown Commissioner to be involved. Undecided is whether such a person would be just an observer or have wider powers, including the ability to override the CTB. This could be seen as central government's way of countering any poor judgement by less than competent mayors.

The CTBs are similar in structure to existing unitary authorities which are already in place in six regions in NZ and which manage both local and regional issues. In most other regions, there are mayoral forums where mayors from a region meet from time to time to discuss regional issues.

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Some of the work currently done by the present regional council will be significantly reduced when the RMA comes into effect and sets a framework for national standards - effectively bypassing some of the regional council planning and consenting processes.

For many years now, there has been widespread criticism of local government and regional councils - in particular, citing bulging bureaucracy, unnecessary costly, lengthy, and inappropriate consenting processes, and the rising cost of rates.

Farmers have long been critical of some regional councils' overly 'green' and anti-farming rules and regulations.

So, under this new regime while the actual functions of regional councils as such may remain, but with changes, these will become more integrated into local councils.

Reforms Long Overdue

Federated Farmers local government spokesperson Sandra Faulkner says the proposal is long overdue and will be welcome news for farming families and rural ratepayers.

She says the Feds strongly support a single layer of local government based on communities of interest.

"This reflects the reality that those in urban areas have different needs, priorities, and interactions with local councils than those in rural areas. These proposals would allow the efficiency of a single layer of local government while maintaining connection with the people and communities they serve,” she says.

Faulkner says rural communities pay a significant share of rates under the current structure – and those rates bills just keep climbing. Yet she says at the same time, we’re increasingly seeing our rural representation around council tables diminished, particularly with councils that share large urban population centres.

The CEO of the Environmental Defence Society Gary Taylor these are not the nuclear options that many feared. But he says he’s concerned the changes could lead to a reduction in environmental priorities and deterioration in outcomes. He says how it would work in practice is very unclear from the thin discussion paper that has been released.

“Overall, our view is that local government reform is needed. But shaking up regional governance while resource management reform is rolling out does create uncertainty and confusion about who does what in the new system.”

Horizons Regional Council chair Nikki Riley says the calls for local government reform have been loud, consistent and come from many different parties – including from regional and unitary councils. She says the announcement provides an opportunity to progress real change and at a time of significant reform and cost pressure.

“Any change should be done in collaboration with regional and unitary councils, given their experience with regional-scale delivery of key services,” she says.

System Overhaul

Chris Bishop says the proposals will fundamentally simplify how NZ plans its cities and regions and make it far easier to build the future people deserve. He says local government is meant to serve communities, not confuse them.

“But right now, the system is tangled in duplication, disagreements, and decisions that defy common sense. The Government does not think local government is serving New Zealanders well and the time has come for reform,” he says.

Bishop says the new reforms will strip out duplication in the system, standardise processes, and drive down complexity and compliance costs. He says under the new planning system there will be fewer plans, fewer consent categories, and fewer consents overall.

“Regional councils will have a significantly reduced role as part of this new planning system,” he says.

The Minister of Local Government Simon Watts says the creation of the CTBs is very important to local democracy. He says when citizens vote for their mayor, they are choosing who they want to lead local representation for the next three years.

“Most people know their mayor. Few could name the chair of their regional council, or even a regional councillor,” he says.

Watts says CTBs empower mayors from the same region to work together to govern their regions through genuine regional collaboration. He says each board would be asked to prepare a regional reorganisation plan within two years of their establishment. This he says would streamline regional decision-making across planning, infrastructure, and regulation, reduce duplication, and strengthen accountability. He says it would also remove an unnecessary, confusing, and expensive structure.

Consultation on the proposal is now open and will close on 20 February 2026.