Simplifying Local Government

Help shape the future of your local government

Stratford and South Taranaki District Councils submitted a joint outline proposal on 7 August 2026, and the Government has paused decisions on all proposals until after the 2026 general election.

What happens next

We will share updates on this page as the process moves forward. Community feedback helps inform Council's proposals, but final decisions on local government reform sit with the Government.

Since the Government’s announcement on 5 May, we've been talking with other councils across the region, and it’s important we have your views as part of these conversations, while we work through what comes next.

Help shape the future of your local government

Change is coming to how local government works in New Zealand. The Government is proposing reforms aimed at making local government simpler, more efficient and easier for people to understand.

These changes could affect how local decisions are made, how services are delivered and how communities are represented, and would significantly reduce the number of councils across the country.

Under the proposal, regional councils would no longer exist after 2028, and all district councils would eventually become unitary authorities, meaning one council would do the work currently shared between district and regional councils.

District councils generally deliver local services such as roads, rubbish collection, parks, libraries, water services and local planning, while regional councils focus on environmental management, such as water quality and pest control, as well as public transport. To carry out all of these functions effectively, it is likely some councils will need to join together.

Our role so far

Council agreed to join the Government's Head Start pathway so we could have a say in shaping our future, rather than having decisions made for us later. Under this pathway, district councils can work together to develop outline proposals for new unitary authorities, which can cover all or part of a region and may create one or a small number of new unitary authorities.

Since the Government's announcement on 5 May 2026, we have been talking with other councils across the region. We also ran a community survey from Friday 12 June to Sunday 12 July 2026 so your views could be part of these conversations.

You can view a summary of the results here.