Ngāi Tahu proposes replacing 24 South Island councils with five

Ngāi Tahu wants to replace all 24 councils in its rohe (territory) across Te Waipounamu (the South Island) with five larger councils based on river catchments. The iwi submitted the plan as a Head Start proposal before the government's 9 August deadline, despite not being invited to join the council-led reform process. Ten other proposals came from South Island councils.