Aucklanders Get A Say In Northland’s Local Elections

Friday, 25 April 2025, 4:14 pm
Article: Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter

Thousands of Aucklanders with Northland holiday home properties are able to vote in Te Tai Tokerau’s October local elections.

This is allowed under legislation underpinning New Zealand local government voting.

A person who lives in one council area but owns a property in another can vote in that extra property’s local elections too, as long as they’re first on the national electoral roll.

Holiday properties at Northland’s Mangawhai and areas like the Bay of Islands, Tutukākā and Doubtless Bay are popular with Aucklanders.

A person who owns an Auckland property and has a holiday home at Mangawhai can effectively vote for a mayor and community board member in Auckland, as well as a mayor and councillors in Kaipara District Council (KDC).

In that case, they can also vote for their local Northland Regional Council (NRC) coastal south constituency councillor.

Northland, Coromandel, Taupō and Queenstown are among locations where non-resident voting is particularly prevalent.

A person who registers on the non-resident ratepayer roll must live outside the area and be enrolled to vote in the national elections to qualify.

Ratepayer voters with properties in two different council locations can vote for two nayors, councillors, regional council chairs and community board members, where applicable depending on council type.

An Auckland resident ratepayer who has a property in Far North District Council’s rohe can also vote for a relevant local community board representative.

Northland’s Langs Beach NRC councillor Rick Stolwerk said non-resident ratepayer voting was worthwhile.

He can vote locally in Northland and as a non-resident voter 900km away in the South Island.

Stolwerk and his wife Angela own a 610ha coastal sheep and beef farm in Marlborough, more than 14 hours’ drive south, where his wife comes from.

The Ward farm is in Marlborough District Council, a unitary authority. Almost a quarter is in a QEII coastal covenant, roughly the same area as the property’s Significant Natural Area.

“It’s important to be able to vote as a non-resident ratepayer. We’re influenced a lot by what the local council does,” Stolwerk said.

He also plays an active role in Marlborough local government including through submissions on the local council’s vehicles on beaches policy, long-term planning and bylaws.

Meanwhile, within Northland non-resident voting means any property owner who lives in one place but has a property in another council can also vote similarly.

And the same applies within a council.

Electoral Officer Dale Ofsoske gave the example of a Far North District Council ratepayer who lived in Kaikohe but had a holiday property at Whangaroa. That person could vote for Mayor, their local councillor and local Kaikohe-Hokianga community board member where they lived. But with their non-resident property they can only vote for their Bay of Islands-Whangaroa community board member.

Ofsoske has created a new online tool www.ratepayer.co.nz to help property owners nationally check out their extra non-resident property’s details and who they can vote for.

The site also has online non-resident voting registration forms to send to their relevant extra council.

Ratepayers who want to vote in the area where they also have their holiday home or business must fill out a non-resident ratepayer enrolment form and send it to the council where their extra property is located.

This enrolment is not automatic and must be done for every local election.

Non-resident ratepayers who have previously enrolled will be sent a confirmation form before April 30. Its details can be checked and the form returned.

The deadline to be on the non-resident ratepayer roll is Friday 1 August.

Only one non-resident vote is allowed per property, even if multiple people own the property or business.

Ofsoske said non-resident ratepayer local council voting had been around for about 20 years.

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