Upper Hutt Mayor Peri Zee says she will ask elected members across the Wellington region to respect local decision-making if Upper Hutt votes against amalgamation, positioning the city to withdraw from the proposed multi-council merger.

Zee told RNZ she is sceptical of the amalgamation project and has not heard anyone articulate the value proposition or expected outcomes. She said the Wellington region already has strong regional governance in areas such as transport, and that amalgamation would not deliver enough benefits for ratepayers.

"If a council votes no, that means no… and I would expect that they would respect that," Zee told RNZ. She indicated she would ask councillors in each council to propose an amendment excluding Upper Hutt from any amalgamation proposal, a position Auckland Scoop also reported.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little confirmed the trajectory in an email to all councillors, stating Upper Hutt intended to vote against the merger plan and that Zee intended to ask each council to write Upper Hutt out of the proposal. Little's own amalgamation proposal, if backed by his council, would include the region's four metro councils, he told RNZ.

The current proposal merges Wellington, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, and Porirua city councils, plus three Wairarapa councils and potentially Kāpiti District Council, with a layer of community councils beneath. Councils across New Zealand have until August 9 to submit plans to simplify local government.

Little wants the Wellington region to decide its own fate rather than leave the amalgamation plan to the Government by missing the August deadline. He told RNZ that ministers had designed the process so they could override a council voting no. "Ministers can say it doesn't make sense for you not to be in it, therefore you're in it," Little said.

MartinJenkins analysis showed a merged Wellington metro council comprising Wellington city, Hutt Valley, and Porirua could cost $290 million to set up and deliver $930 million in savings over 25 years. A survey of 3,016 Wellington city residents found 85% supported councillors putting forward merger plans, with 68% strongly supporting and 17% somewhat supporting.

Wellington and Wairarapa councils are scheduled to vote on the amalgamation plan, with details still to be finalised, according to Auckland Scoop. The Post reported on July 23 that Upper Hutt is likely to back out of the plan based on a leaked email revealing Zee's position, and the New Zealand Herald published a story headlined "Setback for Wellington merger as Upper Hutt Mayor Peri Zee signals likely exit." Zee also appeared on Newstalk ZB's Wellington Mornings to discuss the plans.

Upper Hutt City Council signalled caution in a June 30 news article on its official website, titled "Upper Hutt community approach amalgamation conversation with caution." The article quotes Zee directly about residents wanting to understand how amalgamation changes would affect them and their families' access to community services. In a May 30 video on her official Facebook page, Zee described the amalgamation decision as "a huge decision" and said "we believe you should be a part of it."

Zee's position has shifted. In a November 2025 RNZ article, she described amalgamation as, at some point, an "inevitability." In February 2026, the Upper Hutt City Council published a news article indicating the council would consider whether to delegate authority to Zee, or the Deputy Mayor as alternate, to participate in the joint Regional Governance Working Group. A May 20, 2026 council agenda references "Wellington Water Amalgamation" and lists Zee as Chair and Deputy Mayor Corey White as Deputy Chair.

The broader context here is the tension between local autonomy and ministerial override. Little's confirmation that ministers can compel councils into an amalgamation against their will raises the stakes for any council voting no. If Upper Hutt is carved out by amendment, the question becomes whether ministers accept that outcome or exercise their override. The August 9 deadline concentrates the decision-making into a narrow window, and the region's councils will need to vote on a proposal whose final shape remains in flux.