Rhys Hurley: Bigger councils don’t mean better value
Rhys Hurley is investigative Lead at the New Zealand Taxpayers Union Fewer councils, fewer duplicated roles, all under the promise of lower costs and better services. When governments are looking for an easy win, it seems a shake-up of local government is where they head. For locals that might sound tempting, especially when local tax hikes have already outpaced inflation this year.
- ▪Rhys Hurley is investigative Lead at the New Zealand Taxpayers Union Fewer councils, fewer duplicated roles, all under the promise of lower costs and better services.
- ▪When governments are looking for an easy win, it seems a shake-up of local government is where they head.
- ▪For locals that might sound tempting, especially when local tax hikes have already outpaced inflation this year.
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| Original publisher | ConservativeHome |
| Canonical URL | https://conservativehome.com/2026/07/23/rhys-hurley-bigger-councils-dont-mean-better-value/ |
| Publication time | Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:00:57 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-07-23T14:14:18.643Z |
| Last seen | 2026-07-23T14:14:18.643Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Rhys Hurley is investigative Lead at the New Zealand Taxpayers Union Fewer councils, fewer duplicated roles, all under the promise of lower costs and better services. When governments are looking for an easy win, it seems a shake-up of local government is where they head. For locals that might sound tempting, especially when local tax hikes have already outpaced inflation this year. While Whitehall chugs along at its typical pace in Britain, a far more radical experiment is unfolding in my neck of the woods. New Zealand has started its own pathway for council amalgamation. Local authorities have been given a strict three-month ultimatum: design your own streamlined, unitary mergers, or central government will step in and do it for you.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at ConservativeHome.
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