Statement from Wellington Mayoral Forum on regional governance reform

Published on 08 May 2026

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The Wellington Mayoral Forum has met at Silverstream to continue discussions about options for regional governance reform.

The Forum also considered the central government’s announcement about a three-month window to put forward ‘fast track’ proposals.

“Mayors continued our frank and constructive discussions. No final decisions were made,” Mayoral Forum Chair and Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said.

“We’ve been working since November to respond to the central government’s ‘Simplifying Local Government’ policy.

“The new three-month deadline has complicated that work, but the bottom line remains that local people should decide the future of their local governments,” Andrew Little said.

“The appropriate next step is to report back to our respective councils,” Deputy Forum Chair and South Wairarapa Mayor Dame Fran Wilde said.

“That’s the right process to ensure all councillors get to fully participate in leading the conversations we’ll keep having as local communities,” Dame Fran said.

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