Southland District Council (SDC) Mayor Rob Scott's vision of just two councils governing Southland moved a step closer yesterday (8 Jul) after the Local Government Commission (LGC) announced it would be formally investigating the proposal.

Southland is currently governed by three territorial councils - Southland District (SDC), Gore District (GDC) and Invercargill City (ICC), and one regional council - Environment Southland (ES).

SDC Mayor Rob Scott made his initial proposal in August last year to reorganise local government in Southland into two unitary authorities – one rural based and one for Invercargill city.

The proposal was subsequently formally lodged with the Local Government Commission (LGC) by the SDC.

Yesterday's LGC announcement follows preliminary consultations with all four affected councils and Te Ao Mārama Incorporated, on behalf of Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku.

Scott said he was pleased the Local Government Commission had seen merit in the proposal.

“There’s definitely a need for change in local government in Southland.”

“The people of Southland deserve relevant representation that is connected to their communities and is efficient and affordable."

“I’m looking forward to working with the commission over the coming months,” he said.

In April and May respectively, both ICC and ES councilors supported the further investigating the proposal, although ICC councilors preferred a single unitary authority.

GDC Chief Executive Debbie Lascelles said in May that while there had been some interest from both the community and council to the current proposal, for Gore to give up its local voice and control the proposal would need to demonstrate considerably more financial benefits.

She said the GDC believed a much bigger proposal needed to be explored.

The commission said in its announcement that the initiative set out potential benefits for the Southland region, and some concerns of the other affected councils.

“Each council and Ngāi Tahu ki Murihiku will have the opportunity to feed into development of the investigation process document, which may assist in allaying some concerns,” the LGC decision said.

The LGC process is expected to take between three and five years to complete.