Selwyn Mayor Lydia Gliddon says "constant patch repairs" won't fix local government so it's better to do it all in one swoop.

A local government shake-up announced last week piles more pressure on councils on top of the impending RMA reform and imminent rates capping policy.

Councils are also going through waters services reform, referred to as Local Water Done Well, which aims to address long-standing infrastructure issues.

For the new-look Selwyn District Council, it's also undertaking its own in-house reforms.

Gliddon said it's “all opportunity”.

“You can look at it like it is going to be really busy and it’s a lot, but I tend to flip in on its head.

“We have got an opportunity here. We are reforming, everybody else is wanting reform, so let’s package it all into one.

“Sometimes it’s better to do one big sweep than trail things on over a few years.”

The “gradual change” is more painful for the community, she said.

It’s comparable to a piece of road getting pothole repairs and patch-ups, but now it’s getting a full rehabilitation.

“Constant patch repairs aren’t going to change the problem.

“They had to come out with a bold move.

“There needs to be systemic change to make a difference, or otherwise nothing really changes.”

Ashburton Mayor Liz McMillan said it’s a lot to be across and “there is still a lot of information to find out”.

The RMA will be the “key domino to fall”, McMillan said.

“Once that comes out it, we can see how everything else lines up.”

The reforms were a hot topic at the first Canterbury Mayoral forum meeting of the term on Friday.

McMillan said there was a presentation from the Department of Internal Affairs on the proposed local government shakeup.

The mayor had plenty of questions, but a lot of detail is still to come.

Under the changes, regional councils could face the axe, with mayor-led boards taking over the responsbilities.

Gliddon said there are plenty of hypothetical scenarios, and Selwyn District Council will be considering what could work best for Selwyn.

It’s been no secret Christchurch City has been leaning towards a unitary council, and stated as much in a formal submission to the Future for Local Government Panel in March 2023.

The local government reshuffle is a big question the mayoral forum will need to tackle next year.

By Jonathan Leask