Labour's leader is encouraging councils to take a closer look at their governance structure

Some councils in the lower South Island have voted this week to continue discussions on creating unitary authorities.

Chris Hipkins says it's a good thing to talk about amalgamation - in the context of improving local government services.

He says it's a conversation local councils should have, with many councils in New Zealand relative to its size.

Hipkins says if you were to design a local government system on a blank piece of paper you wouldn't design the one we have.