Newsline 4 June 2026
Mayor's Column
There is almost a sense of déjà vu as I sit down to write this column. Over the past six years, local councils across New Zealand have been repeatedly directed to consider significant and often disruptive changes to the way local government operates; changes not seen since the 1989 reforms.
Council amalgamation
In November 2025, the Government released a proposal to ‘simplify’ the structure of local government across New Zealand. The proposal outlined changes wherein elected members from regional councils (ECan) would be replaced with Mayors, who’d then have two years to come up with regional reorganisation plans (amalgamations).
What’s in our rubbish?
At an Ordinary Council Meeting on 21 April 2026, Council received the Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) Audit 2025 which looked at the contents of 159 red rubbish bins from across the Waimate District over a three-day period to understand what we’re throwing away that could be diverted from landfill.
