Head Start becomes False Start!

On Thursday Local Government Minister Simon Watts and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced there would be no decisions on the 18 Head Start reorganisation proposals submitted, including  Hawke’s Bay’s, until after the election.

In the meatiest part of their announcement Watts said:

“After considering these proposals, more work is required before Cabinet can make final decisions on Head Start.

“While the overall quality of proposals was high, none came with the unanimous view of the region {Editor: Wairoa hasn’t joined the HB proposal], and some needed further analysis before they can progress. These are important gaps we must fill in prior to making final decisions.

“Particular areas that require further development include ensuring fair and effective representation with streamlined governance, and the transfer and delivery of regional functions.

“Rather than asking councils to commit further time and resources to finalise proposals now, the Government will now work to fill in these gaps over the next few months. Cabinet will consider these proposals in early-2027.”

Bishop added: “The Government continues to expect proposals endorsed by Cabinet to be developed in detail and considered for final approval in 2027, with Head Start changes intended to be in place ahead of the 2028 local government elections.

A classic ‘hurray up and wait’ … what a bunch of goofballs. Maybe one of our local MPs, Wedd or Nimon, can provide a rationale — or apology — for this muck-up.

Our councils have taken the news in stride, at least on the surface, responding with their own joint announcement.

Mayor Wendy Schollum said: “Our communities have asked us to keep working towards a simpler, more effective system of local government. We will keep moving that work forward and remain focused on achieving the best outcomes for our community.”

Napier Mayor Richard McGrath said while the announcement was disappointing, the additional time could be used to strengthen the work already undertaken. “The initial proposal was never intended to be the final blueprint. There is more detailed modelling to do around how a future council could operate, including governance and representation, services and finances.

Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Will Foley said: “Affordability matters enormously to our communities … We can’t expect better outcomes for ratepayers if we simply keep doing things the way we always have. Our proposal for a single unitary authority wasn’t arrived at lightly. It reflected our assessment of the model that offered the greatest potential to deliver effective, affordable local government services while maintaining strong local representation and decision-making.

“The extra time gives us the opportunity to test that further, strengthen the modelling and work with our communities to make sure any future model genuinely delivers for them.”

This delay aside, under the Government’s legislated Simplifying Local Government reforms, there will be no regional council elections in 2028, so our councils indicate that work to plan the transfer of those functions will continue.

No doubt councils across New Zealand will double down on their pursuit of clear signals from Labour and other parties on whether/how local government reform should proceed were there to be a regime change.

Historically, Labour has not been a champion of localism, ditching local elected Health Board and advocating major trans-regional consolidation of water services as part of their ‘3 Waters’ reorganisation. Comments by Labour’s former local government minister Kieran McAnulty and more recently by Local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere have suggested Labour’s concern with Head Start would rest more around its pace than its direction.