The Local Government Commission has determined the Dunedin constituency will lose 1 regional councillor in favour of the Dunstan constituency gaining 1.

At the same time the Commission set aside separate appeals by the Dunedin City Council and Queenstown Lakes District Council, for respectively retaining 6 Dunedin councillors and creation of a fifth “Upper Lakes” constituency for Queenstown Lakes and Cromwell.

The status quo of a total 12 councillors over four wards will be retained.

ORC Chair Gretchen Robertson welcomed the Commission’s determination, which she says provides certainty for communities.

“ORC’s focus remains on ensuring good representation right across Otago to ensure all communities, rural and urban, are fairly represented,” she says.

“Growth in the Dunstan region (Queenstown Lakes and Dunstan districts) has brought both significant opportunities and challenges, highlighting the need for focused attention and additional representation”.

“Whilst the review legislation focuses on population statistics to allocate councillors to areas, it also ensures fair representation for distinct ‘communities of interest.’ “

Rural Otago and smaller centres make up most of the region and are central to the work of the ORC, she says.

“Urban and rural areas have different priorities and challenges, so it’s essential for the ORC to maintain adequate rural representation. Achieving this balance without increasing the current total of 12 councillors allows the council to retain an effective size for collective decision-making.”

“The outcome is positive,” says Cr Robertson.

In a decision released by the Commission yesterday, it said starting from the next triennial general election of the Otago Regional Council - to be held on 11 October 2025 - the following representation arrangements will apply: 5 councillors for Dunedin, 4 for Dunstan, 2 for Molyneux and 1 for Moeraki (the latter two constituencies being unchanged).

The Commission noted Otago will remain as 4 constituencies and will be represented by a Council comprising 12 elected councillors.

Ratio of population to elected members for each constituency:

The ORC publicly notified its final proposal on 30 October 2024. Two appeals against the Council’s proposal were lodged, from the Dunedin City Council and the Queenstown-Lakes District Council.

The Dunedin City Council appeal sought retention of all 6 members for the Dunedin Constituency; the transfer of the Mosgiel-Taieri and Strath Taieri community board areas (both part of Dunedin City) from the Molyneux Constituency to the Dunedin Constituency; and an increase in the total number of members on the Council from 12 to 13.

The Queenstown-Lakes District Council’s appeal sought a division of the Dunstan Constituency into two constituencies; an “Upper Lakes” Constituency comprising Queenstown-Lakes District and the Cromwell Ward of Central Otago District, plus a constituency comprising the remainder of Central Otago District – the Alexandra, Teviot Valley and Maniototo wards.

The Commission determination noted that Dunedin reducing to having 5 members out of a total of 12 was still a sizeable proportion of the Council, and five members should be able to advocate and put forward a point of view to the Council.

The Commission also “acknowledged” in its determination the population growth in the Dunstan Constituency, and specifically in Queenstown-Lakes District.

However, the Commission had “qualms” about whether having an “Upper Lakes” constituency meant the residual Dunstan Constituency would receive more effective representation through electing 1 member compared to the current 4 members.

Background to consultation and determination The ORC last reviewed its representation arrangements prior to the 2019 local authority elections and was required to undertake a review before the next elections in October 2025.

The Council undertook preliminary engagement for its representation review in February 2024.

It sought the views of the territorial authorities of the region and of rūnaka, and also carried out an online community survey, which received 64 responses.

A key theme in the responses from the online survey was the population growth in the Whakatipu and Wanaka areas and the desire for additional representation for those areas.

The Council also held a series of workshops for councillors, the last of which considered the information gained from the engagement and several options for representation arrangements.

Consideration was given to:

1) The current constituencies, but with the transfer of 1 member from the Dunedin Constituency to the Dunstan Constituency or alternatively increasing the total number of members to 13.

2) The creation of an “Upper Lakes” Constituency comprising Queenstown-Lakes District and the Cromwell Ward of Central Otago District.

3) The creation of a Whakatipu Constituency comprising the Queenstown-Whakatipu and Arrowtown-Kawarau wards of Queenstown-Lakes District.

4) The appropriate constituency for the Mosgiel-Taieri and Strath Taieri community board areas and for the Teviot Ward of Central Otago District.

On 26 June 2024 ORC resolved its initial representation proposal for a council comprising 12 members elected from 4 constituencies. The sole change to the current arrangements were a decrease by 1 in the number members elected from the Dunedin Constituency and an increase of 1 in the number of members elected from the Dunstan Constituency.

ORC notified its initial representation proposal on 10 June 2025 and received 165 submissions by the deadline of 8 September 2025.

At a meeting on 23 October 2024 ORC adopted its initial proposal (number 1 above) as its final representation proposal; which went to a hearing held online by the Commission on 4 March 2025, with both Dunedin and Queenstown Lakes councils’ making representations.

© Scoop Media