You must be a New Zealand citizen and be a parliamentary elector (enrolled to vote).

Other requirements are that:

• Two electors in the area you are standing for nominate you.
• You or your spouse/partner must not have concerns or interests in contracts over $25,000 with the council.
• If you are subject to a Court Order under section 31 of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, you should take legal advice.
• If you are an employee of the council, you must resign before taking up your position as an elected member. You may be required to take leave for campaigning prior to the election.
• You have lived at your current address for at least one month however, you do not need to live in the area in which you wish to stand.

You cannot stand if you are currently serving a prison term of three years or more.

You do not need to reside in the area (city, district, ward, constituency, community board or local board) that you are standing for.

You do not need any formal qualifications. Elected members come from all walks of life and generally have a desire to serve their community.

If you are standing ‘at large’, then you are standing for the whole council area rather than from its wards.

If you are standing for a ‘ward’ they are the parts of a council area that have been determined by population and communities of interest. These can be either general wards (Matamata, Morrinsville, Te Aroha) or Māori wards.

You can choose to stand for election for any position in a city council, district council or regional council. You can run for mayor, councillor, community board member or local board member.

If you choose to stand for more than one position, there are some restrictions and rules:

• You cannot stand for both a city council/district council and a regional council
• Where a council has both an ‘at large’ and wards system of representation, you cannot stand as councillor for both positions
• You cannot stand as councillor for more than one ward or constituency in a council

But

• You can stand as a member for more than one community board or local board within that council (but if elected to more than one local board, you must have preselected which local board you will take)
• You can stand for councillor and also for member of a community board or local board (but if elected to both positions, you must choose one)
• You can stand for both mayor and councillor.

Yes, if you belong to a political party or other group you may want to identify with them. If you do have a specific affiliation, the electoral officer may require a letter of consent from the party, organisation or group giving its consent for you to use the affiliation.

However, you don’t have to have any affiliations. If this is your situation, you can identify as, ‘independent’ or leave the space blank when you fill out your nomination form.

No. To be eligible to stand for election in a Māori ward, you must be a New Zealand citizen and your name must be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll anywhere in New Zealand.

You will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the Māori electoral roll within the area of election for which you are standing.

Equally, if you are on the Māori roll you can stand in a General ward and will need to be nominated by two electors whose names appear on the General electoral roll within the area of election for which you are standing.

If you wish to list whānau, hapū or iwi details as an affiliation, an endorsement or confirmation letter from a Marae, Whānau Trust, Iwi Authority, or another Māori organisation would be required.

It is acknowledged that whakapapa is a birth right and situations may occur where candidates may not feel they need to provide proof, in which case whakapapa can be highlighted in the context of the candidate profile statement and other forums and activities. 

No, your whakapapa does not count as a “party” that you can be affiliated with. An iwi organisation can be used if they provide an endorsement or confirmation letter. Your whakapapa can still be highlighted in the context of the candidate profile statement and other forums and activities. 

Although the decision will be made in 2025 from the poll result, it will be three years before it is actioned. If the poll result favours removing Māori wards, there will not be an electoral contest for them in 2028. If the poll result favours keeping Māori wards there will be an electoral contest for them at the local elections in 2028 and 2031. 

If you intend standing for a Māori ward, talk to your the Electoral Officer about poll outcome scenarios and implications for councillors.

The Electoral Officer for Matamata-Piako District Council is Warwick Lampp, and you can contact him on 0800 666 048 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Three years.

Pay and allowances are determined by the Government’s Remuneration Authority. The pay rates vary according to population size and other factors. You can see all the councils’ remuneration schedules by clicking on this link to the Local Government Members (2024/25) Determination. 

The figures outlined below are currently accurate in the legislation but will likely change for 2025/26. We will be update the figures as and when they are available:

You can get a nomination form from the electoral officer, and your nominators must fill it in. You must agree to being nominated and will also need to sign the form.

The Electoral Officer for Matamata-Piako District Council is Warwick Lampp, and you can contact him on 0800 666 048 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There are many different skills you will need to draw on, but the success of local government comes when all voices of a community can be heard and included. Importantly, you need to care about all members of your community and communicate their views - even people you don’t agree with! This is called ‘representation’.

You also need to be able to think about strategic issues and take both a short and long-term view of the impact your decisions will have. This is called ‘governance’. These two concepts are at the heart of local government.

Finally, you also must know to uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of Waitangi to facilitate participation by Māori in local authority decision-making processes.

Nominations open on Tuesday, 1 July and close on Friday, 1 August 2025 at midday. Nominations must be lodged with the electoral officer at the council you are standing for. 

Do not leave lodgement until the last day because if there are any problems with the details provided there might be insufficient time to resolve them, and you could miss out. 

You may provide a candidate profile statement when you lodge your nomination. This is a statement of up to 150 words containing information about yourself and you policies and intentions if elected to office. The profile statement will be included in the voting documents that all electors receive.

If your candidate statement is submitted in Māori and English, the information contained in each language must be substantially consistent with the information contained in the other language. Each language has to be within a 150 word limit.

Your profile statement must be true and accurate. The Electoral Officer is not required to verify or investigate any information included in your statement.

Your candidate profile statement must state whether or not your principal place of residence is in the area you are seeking election, e.g. ‘My principal place of residence is in the Morrinsville ward’, or ‘My principal place of residence is not in the Morrinsville ward’. This is not part of the 150-word limit.

Your profile can also include a recent passport size photograph (digital is recommended). See section 61 of the Local Electoral Act 2001 for more information.

Yes, and it is very important to talk to your local Electoral Officer to find out exactly what the rules are. There will be a candidate briefing in our district on Monday 9 June, and we will share the details when they are confirmed.

The rules will be about things like not going over budget on advertising and keeping track of all your expenses, as you will need to submit them after the completion of the campaign if you are successful.

There are also rules that apply to signage, such as where and when signs can be erected.

There are also limits to the amount of money candidates can spend on their election campaigns, which includes donations and joint campaigning. Talk to your local Electoral Officer to learn more.

The Electoral Officer for Matamata-Piako District Council is Warwick Lampp, and you can contact him on 0800 666 048 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.