A report on the proposed radical shake-up of local Government hasn’t caught the Ashburton District Council by surprise.
Chief executive Hamish Riach said there was no surprise the Government’s Review into the Future for Local Government draft report was being released on Friday.
However, its content may have come as a surprise, and will take time to digest.
The Future for Local Government review is proposing allowing 16-year-olds to vote, mana whenua appointees potentially sitting alongside elected Māori ward councillors, moving all councils to the Single Transferable Vote system, more money for councillors and moving to four-year terms.
An independent panel set up 18 months ago by Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has come back with 29 draft recommendations and a number of questions in the report as it closes in on its final report due out in June next year.
Some councils have claimed to have been blindsided by the report’s release, but Riach said the council was aware it was coming and were not disappointed they didn’t get an advanced copy.
“There are a number of briefings from the panel coming in the next few weeks, so we weren’t grumpy we didn’t have one before its release,” he said.
As the report is still at a draft stage and submissions on it are open until the end of February he said the council will take its time to consider what is being proposed.
“We intend discussing it with council early in the new year, once we have had the chance to digest it and understand it better.
“I’m sure council will be expressing a view on it by the deadline next year,” Riach said.

• By Jonathan Leask