What is being proposed

The Government has proposed a significant change to how regional governance works in New Zealand. Instead of having separately elected regional councillors, the proposal would replace them with Combined Territories Boards (CTBs) made up of the mayors of city and district councils within each region. These boards would take over the governance responsibilities currently held by regional councils and lead long‑term planning and decision‑making for the region. The Government’s intention is to reduce duplication and complexity by consolidating decision‑making at this regional level.

How the new boards would work

Under the proposal, mayors from councils in each region would collectively govern regional functions, including environmental management, regional transport planning and civil defence. The Government’s intention is to reduce duplication and complexity by consolidating decision‑making at this regional level. The boards would also be required to prepare a Regional Reorganisation Plan (RRP) within about two years, setting out how councils in that region could work together more effectively and efficiently. These plans could consider shared services, collaboration on infrastructure, or even merging councils to form larger unitary authorities.

Impact on councils

For councils, the changes could bring significant shifts in roles and responsibilities. Territorial authorities’ mayors would take on expanded regional governance duties, including coordinating with neighbouring councils on issues that cross territorial boundaries. This could increase the workload and influence of mayors but also requires them to balance local priorities with regional decision‑making. Regional councils would still exist as organisations but would no longer have their own elected governance layer. The requirement to develop Regional Reorganisation Plans may also prompt discussion about combining services or even amalgamating councils, potentially reshaping how local government is structured in the future.

Our submission

Click here to read our submission

What’s next?

Government decisions are expected in March 2026, with legislation later in the year. We look forward to working closely with the Canterbury Mayoral Forum on this process.

You can make a submission online. Closing date for submissions is 20 February 2026.

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