Public notice: Far North District Council - Representation Review 2025

Under section 19V(6) of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the Commission upholds the decision of the Far North District Council not to comply with section 19V(2) in respect of the following electoral areas:

a. The Te Hiku General Ward, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by uniting within a ward two or more communities with few commonalities of interest due to their geographic separation. 

b. The North Cape Subdivision of the Te Hiku Community Board, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by uniting within a subdivision two or more communities with few commonalities of interest, being the more densely populated communities of Awanui or Kaitāia with the dispersed rural communities of the North Cape.

c. The Doubtless Bay Subdivision of the Te Hiku Community Board, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by dividing communities of interest between subdivisions, being the communities of Taipa or Oruru from communities in Doubtless Bay with which they share a functional connection.

d. The Whangaroa Subdivision of the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by uniting two or more communities of interest with few commonalities of interest, being communities more appropriately aligned with the current Waipapa and Kerikeri Subdivisions

e. The Russell-Ōpua Subdivision of the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by dividing a community of interest between subdivisions, being communities from neighbouring subdivisions that look to the towns of Pahia or Kawakawa for services and social amenities.

f. The South Hokianga Subdivision of the Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board, as compliance would limit effective representation of communities of interest by transgressing the Hokianga Harbour and uniting the Kaikohe and Ōkaihau communities which have few commonalities of interest.

Accordingly, for at least the triennial general election of the Far North District Council to be held on 11 October 2025, the following representation arrangements will apply:

a. The Far North District, as delineated on Plan LG-001-2022-W-1 will be divided into wards and will be represented by a Council comprising the mayor and 10 councillors elected as follows:

b. There will be three communities with community boards as follows:

*number of members elected by the electors of each subdivision

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

The community boards will be subdivided for electoral purposes. The ratio of population to elected members for each subdivision will be as follows:

As required by section 19T(b) of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the boundaries of the above wards and subdivisions coincide with the boundaries of current statistical meshblock areas determined by Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa and used for parliamentary electoral purposes.

The determination is available on the Commission’s website: Recent Determinations - Local Government Commission (lgc.govt.nz)

Penny Langley
Chief Executive Officer