Representation review changes approved

The Local Government Commission has approved – virtually unchanged – a Northland Regional Council proposal that will see changes to the way Northlanders are represented around its council table.

A map showing the seven new constituency boundaries that nine Northland Regional Council members will represent after the local body election in October.

The commission’s approval means at this year’s local body elections on October 12 Northlanders will vote for nine regional councillors (one more than currently elected) representing seven, smaller constituencies across the North.

As part of a six-yearly ‘representation review’ required under the Local Electoral Act 2001, regional councillors had proposed abandoning what they saw as the ‘outdated’ model (based on the region’s three district council boundaries) that currently governs how they’re elected and who they represent.

Council chairman Craig Brown says the representation review is an entirely separate legal process from – and not related to – the Far North District Council’s proposal to become a unitary authority, which the commission is also investigating.

“Our representation review isn’t about what form the various arms of local government in Northland should take; it’s about the way our councillors are elected to the regional council as it exists today.”

“My fellow councillors and I wanted to strengthen the representation Northlanders get at our council table and empower communities to both better serve their own needs and aspirations and contribute to regional decision-making – we’re thrilled the commission has agreed.”

In its determination, the commission stated: “We believe this has been an appropriate process aimed at achieving effective representation of identified communities of interest.”

Mr Brown says councillors are also grateful to the many Northlanders who took the time to comment on the representation review, including those who made suggestions that both the council and three-member commission had taken on board.

After considering submissions made during a month long public submission period on the representation review, councillors in late October last year agreed to a number of proposed changes, including dropping the existing model and replacing it with seven, smaller constituencies.

The council had also proposed increasing the number of councillors by one to nine – but the cost of that extra councillor would be covered within councillors’ existing roughly $400,000 salary pool. (Nine councillors to share the same money currently paid to eight.)

Mr Brown says the commission had advised the council this week that it had upheld the council’s proposal, subject to a boundary change between the suggested Coastal North constituency and what was to have been a new Hikurangi-Coastal Central constituency.

In its determination, the commission said it agreed with a submitter who suggested the proposed boundaries be adjusted to allow the Hikurangi Swamp to be included in the Coastal North constituency along with other significant catchments. That decision will also mean an extra 2100 people will fall into the Coastal North constituency.

In light of this boundary change, the commission decided the proposed Hikurangi-Coastal Central constituency should instead be named the Coastal Central constituency.

The determination means that from October 12, the regional council’s seven constituencies will be Te Hiku, Hokianga-Kaikohe, Coast North (two councillors), Coastal Central, Whangarei Urban (two councillors), Coastal South and Kaipara.

Each of the nine councillors will represent an average of 17,578 people.

Mr Brown says the commission’s decision is available on its website www.lgc.govt.nz or from the regional council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz/representationreview

ENDS

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