This week the people of Central Hawkes Bay, Wairoa, Napier and Hastings voted two-to-one against a proposal to merge their authorities into a mega-council. The move is a third black eye for the National-led government in recent years, which seems to view bigger-is-better as the model for local government.

The first blow was delivered in Northland, when the Local Government Commission declined to proceed with the merger of the Far North, Whangarei, Kaipara and Northland district councils after it failed to gain popular support.

The Commission also walked back plans to form a Wellington Super City after the public spat the dummy over Greater Wellington Regional Council’s plan to amalgamate with Kapiti Coast, Porirua, Wellington, Hutt City, Upper Hutt, South Wairarapa, Carterton and Masterton district councils.

In fact the only local government merger to proceed in recent years was the Auckland Super City, and that was never put to a popular vote, but was legislated into being.

It is time for central government to pay heed to the message coming from the communities, namely that they do not want their voices diluted. If there is a pothole that never gets fixed, people want to be able to put a bee in the ear of the local councillor, not a member of a local board three tiers down from where actual decisions get made.

Central government’s problem with local government is that it is not proceeding fast enough on nationally significant projects and issues with the quality of spending. Fair enough. But these measures are not necessarily remedied by mega-councils.

Firstly, it is the people who live in the particular jurisdictions that will bear the cost burden of major projects, and they need to be convinced of the merits whether the council is big or small.

Second, amalgamations remove the ability of people to vote with their feet. Pre-amalgamation Grey Lynn residents could move to the North Shore if they disliked Auckland City’s spending plans. Now they cannot. Third, the international literature shows that very few amalgamations delivered on the cost savings they set out to achieve. More often than not, the reverse is true.

Although the idea of a simplified local government structure is appealing on some level, it is time for central government to abandon the amalgamation bone. This is a democracy after all.