Efficiency, Rates, and representation in New Zealand. The Evidence

Volume Two of this four Volume study into the possible beneits of pursuing regional and local council mergers in New Zealand. It draws on the audited 2024/25 accounts of 76 councils to test what drives council costs, rates, staffing and debt, and whether size or structure makes a difference. It finds that population density, not size, shapes costs, that regional rather than local functions benefit from scale, and that whether amalgamation savings offset costs and can compensate for the loss of representation is doubtful. Volume Three examines the one case in New Zealand in which the effects of mergers can be tracked, that Of Auckland Council, established in 2010 by the amalgamation of seven territorial and one regional coiuncil, while Wolume Four examines the prospects for savings of various new council configurations in Northland Region.