Gore District Council will ask residents to choose between five options for reshaping local government across the south.
The decision follows an extraordinary meeting today where councillors agreed to join the Government's Head Start reform process — a fast-track pathway that lets councils propose their own restructuring before compulsory amalgamation kicks in after 2028.
Mayor Ben Bell made clear the reform pressure is coming from Wellington, not Gore. "The Government has set the clock, set the rules and set the deadline. Our choice is whether we sit back and have a future handed to us or get to the table and help shape it."
No decision has been made to amalgamate. The consultation keeps Gore's options open before the August 9 deadline for Head Start proposals.
Two reform processes are now running simultaneously in Southland, causing confusion. The Local Government Commission is conducting an independent investigation that began at Southland District Council's request. The second phase workshops a long list of options on June 17 in Invercargill.
The Government's Head Start pathway offers councils a faster route with broader options, but any proposal must create a unitary authority and meet five criteria including maintaining local voice.
"The thing I'll be fighting hardest for is local representation," Bell said. "There's a genuine worry that a smaller district like ours could get drowned out in a bigger organisation. That concern is fair, and exactly why we want to be in the room — to make sure the Gore District has a say in decisions that affect us."
The five options residents will consider are: staying with the Commission review only; creating one unitary authority for Southland with rural representation built in; forming a rural unitary across Southland and Otago covering Gore, Southland, Clutha, Waitaki and Central Otago districts; an open option for other ideas; and splitting into two unitary authorities with Invercargill separate from a Southland-Gore council.
Bell called this early conversation a first step, not the final word. "Because the Government's timeframe is tight, it is deliberately fast and high-level."
If the Government accepts any proposal, detailed design work including financial modelling and governance arrangements would run from October 2026 to March 2027.
Council appointed Cr Paul McPhail and Mel Cupit to a joint working group with Invercargill City Council to explore governance options.
Details on drop-in sessions and online feedback will be released through the council's website, local media and social channels.