24 Sep 2013

Plea for end to council reforms in the north

1:23 pm on 24 September 2013

A Hokianga man has made a plea for an end to destructive council reforms.

Louis Toorenburg told a public meeting on local government reform in Kerikeri on Monday night that amalgamations had caused only harm to his community.

He said Hokianga was devastated by amalgamation in the dairy industry, when small factories closed, forcing a Maori exodus to Auckland.

And the community took another hit in the local government amalgamations of 1989.

The Local Government Commission is expected to release a report on reform options for Northland after the elections next month.