Mayor Revell calls for feedback on local government reforms
Published on 26 June 2026
With the Central Government planning the biggest shake up to councils in nearly 40 years, Thames-Coromandel District Council Mayor Peter Revell is calling on the community to make its voice heard.
A week ago, the Council released three options for potential local government amalgamations, with an outline of opportunities and challenges for each.
The options are:
- Greater Waikato – this would bring together all councils currently in the Waikato Regional Council area
- North Bay of Plenty – this would bring together TCDC with Tauranga, Western Bay and part of Hauraki
- East Waikato – this would bring together TCDC with Hauraki, Matamata-Piako and South Waikato
TCDC is asking residents and ratepayers to rank these options in order of preference and provide any comments they would like to make about their reasons, or to suggest alternatives if they would like.
Mayor Peter Revell said while Simplifying Local Government was being driven by central government, he was urging members of his community to ensure their voices are heard.
“Back in 1989 we saw some 850 local bodies being amalgamated into 86 regional and territorial authorities. What is happening now is another stage where regional councils are being abolished and local district councils will amalgamate into a unitary authority,” said Mayor Revell.
“The nature and extent of this warrants public and community feedback and plenty of it. We have been supported by community boards sharing information through their networks, residents and ratepayers’ groups have pushed links out to members, many of the district’s social media and mainstream media platforms are also carrying the links.”
Mayor Revell said more opportunities to spread the word and engage were under consideration – he hoped feedback numbers would be in the thousands, not hundreds, when it closed on 15 July.
Council’s Simplifying Local Government Working Group, set up to investigate options for addressing the Government’s reform programme, is also holding informal discussions with other councils. This to ensure TCDC has all the necessary information to make informed decisions and is engaged with potential partners.
Mayor Revell stressed that no decisions have yet been made. “There is plenty of further analysis and many more conversations to be had, along with considering what the Thames-Coromandel community thinks, before we will know which way to go.”
Council’s working group will meet more regularly with weekly updates being provided to the full Council, to our community boards and the wider community.
More information and a feedback form can be found on the TCDC website and at council service centres and district libraries.