Final proposal for representation arrangements | 2025 local elections

Notice on Final Proposal for representation arrangements for the 2025 local elections

Representation Review - Final Proposal Document(PDF, 2MB)

Submissions

On 10 September 2024, Waitaki District Council considered the submissions received on its Initial Proposal regarding the representation arrangements for the Council and its constituent community boards to apply for the local elections to be held on 11 October 2025.

The Council received 11 submissions on its proposal.

There was majority support for the main elements of the proposal, including:

• for retaining the current number of Councillors at 10 (six submitters);
• for retaining the existing arrangement of elections by Ward (seven submitters);
• for supporting the retention of the existing Wards and boundaries (seven submitters); and
• for retaining the existing arrangements for the Ahuriri and Waihemo Community Boards (seven submitters).

Issues raised by submitters in opposition to the proposal included:

• Three submitters supported reducing the number of Councillors to 6, 7, or 8;
• One submitter supported more Councillors and no community board members;
• One submitter requested a stronger voice for the rural wards;
• One submitter proposed a fully at-large basis of election, and a single district-wide ward was also suggested;
• One submitter proposed that Waihemo Ward amalgamate with Dunedin City Council and the three remaining Wards of Waitaki district amalgamate with Timaru District Council

Final proposal

Having considered all objections, the Council resolved to adopt its Initial Proposal without amendment as the Final Proposal.

The Council rejected matters raised in submissions opposing the proposal for the following reasons:

• The proposed number of councillors is appropriate to provide effective representation given the district’s diverse communities of interest and geographic size.
• A fully at large basis of election would be inappropriate given the district’s distinct communities of interest which are best represented by the current ward-based system and ward boundaries.
• For the same reasons, a single district-wide ward would be inappropriate for effective representation of communities of interest.
• The proposed community boards provide for effective representation of specific communities of interest at the local level, and are well accepted and supported by the district.
• The suggested amalgamation of wards with other territorial authorities is outside the scope of the Representation Review.

Therefore, the Waitaki District Council’s Final Proposal is as set out below.

Council Representation

It is proposed that the Waitaki District Council comprises the Mayor who is elected at large, and 10 Councillors elected from four Wards. The four wards reflect the following communities of interest:

The number of Members to be elected to each ward, and the population (based on Statistics New Zealand estimates as at 30 June 2023) that each Member will represent is as follows:

In accordance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001, the population that each member represents must be within the range of 2,436 +/- 10% (from 2,192 to 2,680), unless particular community of interest considerations justify otherwise.

Only the representation of the Ahuriri Ward falls outside the stipulated range. The Council considers that the Ahuriri Ward warrants a single member for the following reasons:

• Ahuriri Ward has previously been recognised by the Local Government Commission as an isolated community in representation reviews since 2007; and
• That compliance with Section 19V(2) of the Local Electoral Act 2001 would limit effective representation by dividing communities of interest between and within wards; and
• Ahuriri Ward spans a very large geographical area comprising isolated communities with separate and distinct needs which consequently require a separate Councillor and Community Board to be effectively represented; and
• Ahuriri Ward’s character as a summer destination where small permanent populations in separate communities of interest are significantly increased by visitors during the holiday season; and
• Ahuriri Ward’s non-compliance ratio in 2023 of -16.26% is a considerable decrease in over-representation from the -21.95% ratio for that ward in the 2018 Representation Review, and that the Ward’s population growth continues to trend upwards as a result of ongoing tourism and economic development.

Community Board representation

It is proposed that the following two community boards be elected:

Ahuriri and Waihemo Community Boards

The Ahuriri and Waihemo Community Boards will each elect five members. They will not be sub-divided for electoral purposes. Following elections, elected Ward Members will be appointed to the Community Boards by Council, as follows:

Appeals

Any person who made a submission on the Council’s Initial Proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person's submission.

Appeals are to be forwarded to:

Waitaki District Council
Attention: Ainslee Hooper, Governance Advisor
Physical address – Council Offices, 20 Thames Street, Oamaru 9400
Email – consult@waitaki.govt.nz [please use REPRESENTATION REVIEW at the beginning of the subject line]

Further information

Please direct any questions regarding the Council’s decision to Ainslee Hooper (Governance Advisor) on telephone (03) 433 0300; or via email:  govadvisor@waitaki.govt.nz

Alex Parmley
Chief Executive
30 October 2024