Representation Review
Public submissions on our Initial Proposal for Representation Review were open 2 August - 4 September 2024.
Council's Final Proposal for representation arrangements for the 2025 local elections has been notified. Any person who made a submission on the Council’s Initial Proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision before 2 December 2024. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person's submission.
What's this all about?
Council elections are held every three years. This is when local people vote for mayors, councillors, and community board members to represent them.
The law says that every six years councils must take a fresh look at their representation arrangements. This is to make sure that they are best set up to represent people fairly and equally and to help meet the aims and needs of the whole community.
The last time Waitaki District Council did a representation review was in 2018. So it was time to look at it again.
Councils have to decide a number of things:
- Should we have different Wards?
- Or should voting be district-wide? (In other words, no wards.)
- Should we have a mix of Wards and district-wide voting?
- If we do have Wards, how many should there be and what should they be called?
- Where should the Ward boundaries be?
- How many councillors should there be in each Ward?
- Should community boards stay as they are or change?
What are we proposing?
We are proposing to keep things as they are for the 2025 and 2028 elections (the ’status quo’ option). This option would mean Waitaki District voters elect a Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members under the same arrangement as the last local elections.
Our Consultation Document outlines Council’s Initial Proposal for representation arrangements for the 2025 local elections.
Our Map shows the boundaries of our Wards.
Final proposal for representation arrangements for the 2025 local elections
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.
We received 11 submissions on our Initial Proposal. Having considered all objections, the Council resolved to adopt its Initial Proposal without amendment as the Final Proposal.
More information can be found in the Public Notice of Final Proposal
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 must be made in writing and must be received by Council no later than 2 December 2024.
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]
