GUEST OPINION - Cr Craig Jepson

Northland Doesn’t Need a Super‑Council — It Needs Local Democracy That Works

By Craig Jepson - Kaipara District councillor and former mayor.

For all the noise about “simplifying” local government in Northland, one question remains unanswered: where has bigger ever proven better? No one can point to a single example in New Zealand where amalgamation has delivered lower costs, better services, or stronger communities. What we can point to are the failures — and Northland is being pushed down the same path.

The proposal to amalgamate Whangarei District Council (WDC), Far North District Council (FNDC), and Kaipara District Council (KDC) into a single super‑authority is being sold as efficiency. In reality, it risks creating a distant, debt‑laden bureaucracy that weakens rural communities, strips local voice, and repeats Auckland’s mistakes on a smaller scale.

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A TERRIBLE IDEA

The Whangārei District Council (WDC) has been forced into an embarrassing rethink of its $29 million Waterfront to City project after business owners overwhelmingly rejected plans that would remove dozens of car parks from the city centre.

The proposal, championed as a vision to transform John Street into a one-way "destination street", was unanimously rejected at a meeting of local business owners. They described it as a "terrible idea", disconnected from the realities facing a struggling city centre.

DOC OUTRAGE

A storm has erupted on social media following a story in the Northern Advocate reporting that the Whangārei Native Bird Recovery Centre had been fined $400 for a breach involving a kiwi. The "breach" was allowing a child to pat a kiwi chick.

DOC's team leader for “wildlife crime” said kiwi permits require handlers to follow a best practice manual. The “crime” was that the child was not an approved handler, although Robert Webb is, and he was present at the time the offence was committed.

SAFETY NETS AND LONG SHOTS

The release of the 2026 Labour and Green Party lists has delivered contrasting fortunes for Northland’s parliamentary hopefuls. It has created guaranteed safety nets for two high-profile MPs while leaving a local challenger facing a near-impossible mountain to climb.

At 49th on the party list, Labour’s Whangārei candidate, Dr Gary Payinda, has virtually no chance of securing a list seat based on current polling. He now faces a must-win battle to wrest the Whangārei electorate from National.

NATIONAL MPs AT RISK

The latest 1News Verian poll will be a concern for National’s five list MPs, including senior ministers Nicola Willis and Paul Goldsmith, and Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee.

The poll shows National slumping to 29% support, down from 38% on election night in 2023. At that level, the party would be entitled to 37 seats in Parliament, a loss of 11 from its current total of 48 seats (43 electorate MPs and five list MPs).

MEET THE CANDIDATE: Vince Cocurullo, NZ First

The former Whangarei District Council mayor, Vince Cocurullo, has been selected by NZ First to stand in the Whangarei electorate in this year's general election. In the second of our Meet the Candidates interviews, we put a number of questions to Vince. (His answers in italics.).

Party Switch

1. You've previously been associated with the National Party. What specifically led you to choose NZ First instead?

I have always been centre-right politically. NZ First aligns closely with my belief in personal responsibility, national sovereignty, equal citizenship, strong communities and practical solutions. As a proud Northlander and New Zealander, those values resonate strongly with me.

A GRIFT

Far North district councillor, Davina Smolders, has described cultural impact reports and co-governance agreements as a “grift” (a swindle, scam, or confidence game). The comments were made in an interview with Heather du Plessis-Allen on Newstalk ZB when she alleged the council was about to sign agreements with five iwi that included sovereignty clauses.

This follows the signing of a “Relationship Protocol” with Ngapuhi in August last year that recognises their status as “the sovereign people of Aotearoa/New Zealand” and acknowledges the 1985 Declaration of Independence, and includes open-ended payments to Ngapuhi.

AN ORCHESTRATED COVER-UP?

In a recent podcast interview with Duncan Garner, musician and community advocate, Aly Cook says she has uncovered cabinet minutes that prove Chris Hipkins knew about the risks of the Covid-19 vaccine to 12–15-year-olds, despite earlier denials.

COUNCILS FACE COURT ACTION

The continued use of extreme climate change models is exposing councils to potential legal challenges, writes Sean Rush, a former Wellington City Councillor.

“New Zealand’s coastal climate change planning system is built on a simple legal standard: councils must plan for the likely effects of climate change, using the best available evidence. But across the country, planning is being anchored to a future that scientists now say is implausible—and, legally, should never have been treated as “likely” in the first place.