In a representation review on the number of ORC Councillors for the region, the ORC today voted for one extra Councillor for its Dunstan ward, with one less in Dunedin.

At a full Council meeting in Dunedin today, Councillors voted 12-0 for the change. The proposal was prompted by reports population growth in the ORC’s Dunstan ward – largely

Central Otago environs - was such that another Councillor should be considered; the proposal being to drop one of Dunedin’s six Councillors and boost Dunstan’s representation from three to four.

Every six years, all councils are required to review their representation arrangements, including how many councillors there are and the areas they represent.

The initial proposal

Following feedback from the community earlier in the year, Council decided on their initial proposal for representation for the upcoming local government elections in 2025.

The ORC proposed to reduce the number of Dunedin councillors by one and add one councillor to the Dunstan constituency, due to the significant population growth in the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes areas.

Making up the [unchanged] full quota of 12 Councillors, there is two in the Molyneux ward and one in the Moeraki ward. The proposed changes only affect the Dunedin and Dunstan wards. The last review was undertaken in 2018, with no changes made.

Why were changes to councillor numbers proposed?

Population data supplied from Stats NZ indicated that following population growth over the past 6 years the Dunstan ward now falls outside the +/- 10% margin of the average across the region, and thus no longer meets the legislative requirements for fair representation. Adding an extra elected member will redress this.

Constituency boundaries will not change.

The proposal adopted by Council on 24 June 2024:

a. Retain the current [four] electoral boundaries for the region based on existing communities of interest.

b. Retain the current total number [12] of councillors.

c. Reduce the number of councillors in the Dunedin constituency from six to five and increase the number of councillors in the Dunstan constituency from three to four.

The process and what’s next ?

The initial proposal was available for public consultation from 10 July to 8 September and attracted 165 submissions, six of which spoke at a hearing on 3 October.

Deliberations followed the hearings on Thursday, 3 October, before council makes its final decision today (23 October) – after which there will be a one-month appeals/objections period.

The Local Government Commission will determine the arrangements by April 2025, and they will take effect for the local government elections in October 2025.

More information about the representation review, the role of an ORC councillor, and the initial proposal is available on our website : https://www.orc.govt.nz/your-council/public-reporting/council-representation-review/

What electoral system does ORC use ?

Council gave consideration to the electoral system at its meeting on 23 August 2023, and resolved to change its electoral system to Single Transferable Vote for the 2025 and 2028 local body elections.

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