Kua tau, kua ea | A decision has been made

Public notice from the Local Government Commission:

Decision on the representation arrangements for the election of the Ōpōtiki District Council to be held on 11 October 2025

In accordance with section 19R of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the Local Government Commission determines that for at least the triennial general election of the Ōpōtiki District Council to be held on 11 October 2025, the following representation arrangements will apply:

Ōpōtiki District, as delineated on Plan LG-027-2025-W-1 will be divided into four wards and will be represented by a Council comprising the mayor and seven councillors elected as follows:

There will be one community with a community board as follows:

The ratio of population to elected members for each ward will be as follows:

The community board will not be subdivided for electoral purposes.

Under section 19V(6) of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the Commission upholds the decision of the Council not to comply with section 19V(2) in respect of the Coast Māori Ward and Ōpōtiki Māori Ward, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest within the isolated communities of the Coast Māori Ward.

As required by section 19T(1)(b of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the boundaries of the above wards and the community coincide with the boundaries of current statistical meshblock areas determined by Statistics New Zealand and used for Parliamentary electoral purposes.

Having considered all of the submissions, the Council resolved to adopt its initial proposal as its final proposal, specifically:

The Ōpōtiki District Council to comprise the mayor elected ‘at large’ and seven councillors elected from four wards, these being:

• Coast Māori Ward (represented by one councillor), comprising the existing Coast Ward area, as shown on Appendix 1;
• Ōpōtiki Māori Ward (represented by two councillors), comprising the existing Waioeka-Waiōtahe-Otara Ward area and the existing Ōpōtiki Ward area, as shown on Appendix 1;
• Rural General Ward (represented by two councillors), comprising the existing Waioeka-Waiōtahe-Otara Ward area and the existing Coast Ward area, as shown on Appendix 2;
• Urban General Ward (represented by two councillors), comprising the existing Ōpōtiki Ward area, as shown on Appendix 2.

The Coast Community Board be retained, represented by four elected members and one appointed member of the council, being the Coast Māori Ward councillor, as shown on Appendix 3.

The number of Māori ward councillors complies with Schedule 1A of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

The two Māori wards, the number of councillors per Māori ward, the Māori ward populations (estimated as at 30 June 2023) and the population ratio per Māori ward councillor are as follows:

In accordance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001, the population that each Māori ward councillor represents must be within the range of 1,590 +/- 10% (1,431 to 1,749), unless particular community of interest considerations justify otherwise.

The Coast Māori Ward and Ōpōtiki Māori Ward fall outside the stipulated range. Achieving compliance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001 would require either of the below scenarios:

• Increasing the number of councillors elected to the Ōpōtiki Māori Ward from two to three; or
• Moving the boundary between the Māori wards significantly west to increase the population in the Coast Māori Ward.

The Council has reviewed these two options and considers that increasing the number of councillors elected to the Ōpōtiki Māori Ward would limit effective representation and that moving the boundary between the two Māori wards would compromise the community of interest in the Coast Māori Ward.

The two general wards, the number of councillors per general ward, the general ward populations (estimated as at 30 June 2023) and the population ratio per general ward councillor are as follows:

In accordance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001, the population that each general ward councillor represents falls within the population range of 1,450 plus or minus 10% (1,305 – 1,595).

The Council rejected the matters raised in submissions opposed to the initial proposal, as it considers the number of councillors, being seven, and the basis of election, being three councillors from two Māori wards and four councillors from two general wards will ensure fair and effective representation of communities of interest.

Any person who made a submission on Council’s initial proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person’s submission.

The Council received 12 submissions to its initial proposal. Seven submissions were in support of all or some of the initial proposal. Five submissions were opposed to the initial proposal, as follows:

• one submitter sought fewer councilors
• one submitter expressed a preference to retain the current arrangements
• one submitter sought four Māori ward councilors and four general ward councillors
• one submitter sought three Māori ward councillors and three general ward councillors
• one submitter sought two Māori ward councilors and five general ward councillors

The Initial Proposal

Councillors drew up a recommended structure (the initial proposal) in July.

This went out for formal consultation.

We need the final structure decided before the end of 2024 so that there is time for any appeals or reviews by the Local Government Commission. The final structure will be effective in the 2025 local elections.

The Council’s initial proposal is for a seven-member council:

• four councillors elected from two general wards

• three councillors elected from two Māori wards

• a mayor elected at large.

It also proposes that the current Coast Community Board remains the same and the boundary aligns with the boundary for the Coast Māori Ward.

Important issues to note on the preferred option:

1. The preferred option does not comply with the +/-10% rule and therefore must be forwarded to the Local Government Commission to make a determination.
2. The change in the number of councillors will not change the cost of paying elected members. That is because under remuneration rules, we’ll have the same ‘pot’ of funding, it will just be divided up differently.
3. The names currently given to these wards are simple descriptors at this stage. Because there are several changes yet to take place, we prefer to wait until wards and boundaries are finalised before consulting with the community on names. This may mean we have temporary names for the 2025 elections but more meaningful names for future elections.