Greater Wellington is urging people to add their voices to the regional council by standing in October’s local body elections for Greater Wellington Regional Council.

“We want to encourage more people to seek nomination and in particular would welcome greater diversity in our council chambers, there’s a place for everyone,” says Greater Wellington Chief Executive Nigel Corry.

A 2020 Local Government New Zealand survey taken after the 2019 local government elections found that the face of local government is changing. More than 41 percent of successful candidate respondents stood for their first time in 2019, compared with 27 percent who debuted in the 2016 elections. Māori elected members increased to 13.5 percent in 2019, from just 5 percent in 2007. Māori members are also likely to be younger than non-Māori, and female. Women are moving into more influential roles, with 21 of 78 mayors being female.

“It’s vital that we maintain the trend towards councils that truly reflect the communities they represent, so we are looking for a broad spectrum of nominations. All voices are valuable.”

Greater Wellington Regional Councillors represent constituencies from Kāpiti Coast, Porirua-Tawa, Pōneke/Wellington, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta /Upper Hutt and Wairarapa and work together on region-wide issues.

“They are at the forefront of change on key services such as delivering public transport, protecting and enhancing the environment, managing flood protection, enhancing water quality, safeguarding our water supply and responding to climate change.

“In short, they are at the centre of the big issues that matter to the people of the region,” says Corry.

Nominations open on 15 July and close at 12 noon on 12 August 2022.

To help potential candidates and people who wish to nominate candidates find out more about the regional council and the elections, Greater Wellington has launched an elections website at www.giveyourvoice.co.nz.

The site contains Greater Wellington’s interactive Pre-election Report 2022, Pre-election report (interactive) which is essential reading for all potential candidates. It provides a profile of the region and the services offered by Greater Wellington, as well as detail on the initiatives planned by the regional council to address the key challenges facing the region and how they will be funded.

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