Thursday 30th July, 2009

Petitions for amalgamation review widespread, and growing daily

There are currently 24 locations where people can sign the petition for a review of Council amalgamation options for the Nelson Tasman region, with further sites being added daily.

Aldo Miccio launched the petition on Friday 24th July, 2009, seeking the signatures of 10% of Nelson and 10% of Tasman registered voters, in accordance with the Local Government Act (2002). If these signatures are achieved, the Local Government Commissioner will investigate and recommend the best amalgamation model for the region. People can then vote on the Commissioner’s recommended model, or the status quo, at a poll.

Mr Miccio says momentum for the petition has continued to build since its launch a week ago, with retailers and hospitality trade more than willing to have the petition on their premises.

“Within the first few days the petition had more than 500 signatures, and retailers are telling me people are coming to their premises specifically to sign the petition,” Miccio says. “We plan to have the petition in 40 sites around the region by the end of the week.

“The petition has also opened up the amalgamation debate again, and I welcome debate, however we need to be careful that we don’t second guess a potential Local Government Commission process, or the Commissioner's recommended model for a Council union in our region, by trying to answer ourselves how an amalgamated local government might solve specific regional issues,” he says.

“The key at this stage is to sign the petition so we get to see what amalgamation might look like for our region, through the investigations of the independent Local Government Commissioner during the consultation process, the associated costs of which would be met by the Commission.

“I understand some people may have found it hard to support the concept of amalgamation in the past,” he says. “Like now, in the past we haven't been able to answer people's apprehensions around bringing the Councils together. But, if the Local Government Commissioner is allowed to present a model to us, then we will have a chance to get all our questions answered, once and for all.

“Like most people, I would like the Nelson Tasman region to have a governance system that enables things to get done - things that the region needs and things that the people want,” Miccio says. “The way the Councils operate now enables some things to get done - I am not saying that it is not working in some areas - but there have also been times when attempts to work together have not been successful for the residents of either Council. Can we do it better? I think we can.”

ENDS

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