The Local Government Commission (LGC) has decided it will not investigate the option of separating the Upper Clutha from the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and forming a new council.

Petitioner Dean Rankin said he was told by the LGC today (Monday December 18) there will be no formal investigation into forming a new council.

“Recommendations have been made as to what QLDC needs to do next to increase transparency and improve communication, and they've been told to work with the Wānaka [Upper Clutha] Community Board and initiators of this petition on an action plan,” he said.

Dean, a long-term Wānaka resident who first mooted the idea around two years ago, said he was “disappointed” in the decision in a post shared to social media this afternoon.

“I know that when I share this more widely with others in the community and we have time to discuss it, they will feel the same,” he said.

“While it's good that the LGC has made some recommendations, I'm worried that the steps which QLDC commit to will make no measurable difference, and we'll just get more of the same.

“I'll take some time now to look at this decision much more closely and decide how best to work with QLDC on the action points, and more importantly, to see how those action points can have real teeth.”

Dean started a petition which received 1,200 signatures before it was presented to the LGC.

The petition said changes in the ward’s population size and demographics had made local governance by the QLDC ineffective and undemocratic; and that rates were not spent fairly or equitably in this ward. 

He shared some of those complaints today.

“There's a real sense of disenfranchisement here. QLDC have lost a lot of trust with the community. They've made a lot of mistakes. They've misspent far too much ratepayer money. They have made some key decisions recently which have been hugely disappointing for ratepayers right across the district.”

Read more: Upper Clutha community has ‘perception of inequity’ - QLDC

The Local Government Commission is an independent statutory body which makes decisions on the structure of local government. It also reports on local government matters to the Minister of Local Government.