We are required by law to review our ‘representation arrangements’ at least every six years to ensure our community is fairly and effectively represented. This includes reviewing things like the number of Councillors and wards we have, whether each Councillor represents roughly the same number of people in the district, and whether we should have community boards.

2018 Representation review

(Applies to 2019 and 2022 Elections)

We sought community feedback on our initial proposal between 20 June and 20 July 2018. Council then considered all the submissions and developed a final proposal.  The Local Government Commission has made a determination which has upheld Council’s final proposal. This means the existing representation arrangements remain in place for the 2019-2022 triennium.

Read the Commission Determination Here

2021 Representation Review

(Will apply to 2022 and 2025 Elections - superseding the decision above)

In April 2021, Council decided to establish a Maori Ward for the 2022 and 2025 triennial elections. You can read more about this here

As the change could impact the overall representation structure, it was necessary to undertake a Representation Review to ensure our statutory requirements were being met in accordance with the Local Electoral Act 2001.

The process for this review was:

• Council was required by law to determine its initial representation proposal for public consultation by 31 August 2021.
• Once this was decided on, we invited submission from the community on the proposal which closed on 8 September 2021.
• Council considered all submissions received.
• Council gave public notice of its final proposal for an appeal and objections. No appeals or objections were received.
• The Local Government Commission accepted Council’s proposal

You can read more about representation reviews here: http://www.lgc.govt.nz/representation-reviews/