Community engagement on local government reform has closed, with 832 submissions received between 15 and 30 June.

The option submitters preferred was clear, with 89% backing an Eastern Waikato unitary authority, bringing together Matamata-Piako with Hauraki, South Waikato and Thames-Coromandel. Seven percent preferred a Waikato-wide authority, and 4% selected other or made no selection. While the preferred option was clear, the comments were equally valuable in helping Council understand what matters most to the community.

Mayor Ash Tanner says the response reflects how much this matters to the community. "More than 800 people took the time to fill in the survey and plenty more came along to the public meetings. That's a fantastic response for something most people hadn't even heard of a few months ago.” 

“What came through loud and clear is that people want decisions about Matamata-Piako made close to home by people who understand our communities. They want to keep a strong local voice and not get lost in a much bigger organisation. That's why the Eastern Waikato option has resonated with so many people.”

"The survey doesn't make the decision for us, but it gives us a very clear picture of what our community is thinking. Council will consider the feedback, the Government's criteria, and the work being done with neighbouring councils before making a decision on 4 August (formerly 29 July)"

Alongside the survey, council ran three public meetings, in Morrinsville on Monday 22 June, Te Aroha on Wednesday 24 June, and Matamata on Thursday 25 June, giving people the chance to talk through the options face to face. "The questions people asked were excellent. People wanted to know about debt, local assets, flood protection, costs, representation and whether local communities would still have a say. Those conversations were incredibly useful because they showed us what people are most concerned about as we work through this process."

At the Morrinsville session, 40 people turned out for a Q&A with Mayor Tanner following his presentation. Questions covered local representation, the scale of a Waikato-wide council, how much influence councils actually have over the outcome, costs and debt, and how local assets like flood protection infrastructure would be protected under any new structure. Similar conversations took place at the Te Aroha and Matamata sessions with a total of 62 people attending.

The community’s feedback will help inform Council’s consideration of the Eastern Waikato proposal, which a joint working party of Matamata-Piako, Hauraki, South Waikato and Thames-Coromandel is developing. Each council will vote separately on whether to adopt it. Our Council will make its decision on 4 August (formerly 29 July), and the community can watch the meeting online. The other three councils are voting around the same time.

View the consultation summary and submissions here. The proposal will be submitted to central government by 9 August 2026.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to share their views on the future of local government in our district.

The consultation phase has now closed, with approximately 800 submissions received. While the submissions are still being collated, the response from the community has been strong.

We'd also like to thank those who attended the community meetings in Morrinsville, Te Aroha and Matamata. The questions and discussions helped elected members better understand what matters most to our communities as they consider the options in front of them.

One message that is already coming through clearly is the importance people place on retaining local voice and community identity. A summary of the consultation findings will be shared with the community in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, discussions are continuing with neighbouring councils and key stakeholders, such as Waikato Regional Council, as work progresses on a proposal that must be submitted to Central Government by 9 August 2026. Central Government will then decide whether a proposal progresses to the next stage.

Council is expected to decide its preferred approach later this month. We will continue to keep the community updated as the process progresses.

With around 600 survey responses received so far and drop-in sessions underway, some clear themes are emerging from the community.

The biggest concern is local voice. People want to know whether smaller communities like ours can still be heard under a larger council structure, and how representation would actually work in practice, not just in principle.

Financial questions are close behind. People want detail on costs, debt, and whether amalgamation would actually save money. There are specific concerns about how existing debt would be treated and whether councils that have managed their finances well could end up carrying costs from others.

Connected to this is a strong desire to protect local assets. People want to know that what this community has built and funded continues to benefit this community. Several people have asked about mechanisms like ringfencing, although this level of detail would come later if a proposal progresses.

There are also practical questions about what it means to partner with districts that face different pressures, whether that's growth, natural hazards, or infrastructure demands, and how those differences would play out in a combined authority.

Running through all of it is a strong feeling that central government's timeframe is too short for decisions of this scale. People want to understand the implications properly before significant changes are made.

The questions coming up at these sessions feed into council's workshops and decision-making on the proposal.

The survey is open until 30 June. Council will consider all community feedback and make a formal decision on the proposal at its meeting on 29 July. That meeting will be live-streamed.

Fill out the survey here.