King Country
Karen Barrett successfully pushed for Waitomo’s big apple to be spruced up – but never imagined she would find herself leading a political campaign.
Karen Barrett has started a petition to promote the merging of the Ōtorohanga and Waitomo district councils and stand against a potential Waikato super city.
The wife of Waitomo mayor John Robertson has become the driving force behind a petition urging the government to back a proposed pairing of the Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts and reject a potential move toward a Waikato “super city”.
King Country News 16 July 2026
Talks of mergers come off the back of the Government’s Head Start pathway which went live in early May. The voluntary process allows neighbouring councils to develop proposals to reorganise themselves to promote better efficiencies and service delivery.
For Barrett, the public arena is outside her comfort zone, but she believes it will have been worth it if it preserves local democracy and representation.
“I’m normally a person who really prefers to stay in the background, but I felt so strongly that some grassroots activism was needed in this situation,” she said.
“I’m a boomer and we grew up during things like the Vietnam War and civil rights and things like that.
“I’m just somebody who still believes that democracy matters and that people can make a difference,” she said
The former international banker, who moved to New Zealand from America 25 years ago, recently launched an online petition after becoming concerned many residents remained unaware the two districts could be absorbed into a larger group.
“I was talking to people and telling them what was going on about the amalgamation and merger of Ōtorohanga and Waitomo, and a lot of people knew about that, but they didn’t know about the super city threat,” Barrett said.
“People needed to know about that and voice their views,” she said.
Alongside the petition, Barrett is running a wider awareness campaign, including bumper stickers, corflute signs, newspaper advertising and photographs of signs at iconic locations throughout the district.
Meanwhile, other Waikato-wide councils are putting together their potential Head Start options ahead of the August 9 application deadline.
Aside from the Waikato super city, amalgamation options from other local councils include a western Waikato council (Hamilton, Waikato, Waipā, Ōtorohanga and Waitomo) and a central North Island council (Taupō, South Waikato, Ōtorohanga, Waitomo and Ruapehu).
Barrett pointed to Auckland’s seven-council super city, which came together in 2010, as an example of how decision-making can become increasingly distant from residents.
“If you look at the Auckland example, things get very bureaucratic and people get very removed from their decision-makers,” Barrett said.
“(Mayor) John (Robertson) gets phone calls and meets with people all the time as mayor. I don’t think that happens, for example, in Auckland with (Mayor) Wayne Brown,” she said.
She believes local representation is especially important in rural districts.
“The prospect of a super city just removes what is meant to be local from local communities, and I care about that,” Barrett said.
“Our district is huge. We’ve got a big area and a low population, but I think we’re doing things much more smartly and effectively and efficiently and I think that can continue,” she said.
This is not Barrett’s first community campaign. She launched a petition for Tourism Holdings to restore the iconic ‘Big Apple’ on the Waitomo district’s northern boundary two years ago, after it became weathered and covered in graffiti.
The campaign resulted in the landmark being repainted, but Barrett hopes her latest initiative will have an even greater impact.
“I’m really hoping that Ministers Simon Watts and Chris Bishop will listen to what our communities want for themselves, that the merger of Ōtorohanga and Waitomo is endorsed by the Government and we’re allowed to determine our destiny,” Barrett said.
Barrett plans to send the petition to both ministers and local MP Barbara Kuriger around the time the Head Start applications are due on August 9.
At the time of print, the change.org petition, aiming for 500 signatures, was up to 390.
