Taxpayer Talk: Nick Clark and Jordan Williams on why council amalgamation could make town halls even worse
From Taxpayer Talk by New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc.
May 25, 2026 · 1h 4m
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of council amalgamation in New Zealand and its potential drawbacks.
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by Nick Clark from the New Zealand Initiative and Jordan Williams (Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director) to break down the Government’s plan to slash New Zealand’s 78 local authorities down to as few as 15. They explain why bigger councils do not necessarily mean lower rates, better services, or fewer bureaucrats — and why amalgamation could actually make local government less accountable, less local, and even more expensive. From the ...
People in this episode
Host: Peter Williams
Guests: Nick Clark, Jordan Williams
Topics covered
local government
council amalgamation
public services
government accountability
taxpayer issues
Keywords
council amalgamation
local authorities
government services
taxpayer concerns
New Zealand politics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: New Zealand Initiative, Taxpayers’ Union