Today Council launches Tairāwhiti Represent – a campaign to encourage participation in a review of how our community is represented around the council table.

Last year Council voted to introduce Māori Wards, and that decision has brought forward the six-yearly Representation Review.

The Representation Review looks at:

• The number of councillors the region has
• The number of wards there should be – two or more
• Where the ward boundaries should lie and
• Whether there should be community boards.

Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann says it is important people join the conversation early to shape the region’s democratic system.

“We are starting with a blank page and we need our community to tell us what they want our Council to look like in the future. It is really important we get peoples feedback to ensure our representation arrangements are fair and effective.”

A survey to get information to determine how communities see themselves and how they’re represented is part of this. You can access this on our council website, or you can get a hardcopy from council offices.

This feedback will be used to create an initial proposal which will be consulted on in August. Following consultation, Council will consider the feedback and adopt a final proposal which will then have a six-week period for appeals and objections.

Council staff will also schedule a series of public meetings and educational materials to help people give informed feedback. Details will be available on the council website and facebook page.

The end result will be in place for the 2022 and 2025 local body elections.

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