Public notice: Ōpōtiki District Council - Representation Review 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:
|
Ward |
Councillors |
Plan delineating area |
|
Coast Māori Ward |
1 |
LG-027-2025-W-2 |
|
Ōpōtiki Māori Ward |
2 |
LG-027-2025-W-3 |
|
Rural General Ward |
2 |
LG-027-2025-W-4 |
|
Urban General Ward |
2 |
LG-027-2025-W-5 |
There will be one community with a community board as follows:
|
Community/ Community Board
|
Area |
Subdivision |
Members* |
Appointed members |
|
Coast Community Board |
Representing the area of the Coast Māori Ward |
n/a |
4
|
One elected member representing the Coast Māori Ward |
The ratio of population to elected members for each ward will be as follows:
|
Wards |
Population* |
Number of members |
Population per member |
Deviation from district average population per member |
% deviation from district average population per member |
|
Rural General |
2,790 |
2 |
1,395 |
-55 |
-3.79% |
|
Urban General |
3,010 |
2 |
1,505 |
55 |
+3.79% |
|
Total general wards |
5,800 |
4 |
1,450 |
|
|
|
Coast Māori |
1,140 |
1 |
1,140 |
-450 |
-28.30% |
|
Ōpōtiki Māori |
3,630 |
2 |
1,815 |
225 |
+14.15% |
|
Total Māori wards |
4, 770 |
3 |
1,590 |
|
|
|
Total |
10,570 |
7 |
|
|
|
The community board will not be subdivided for electoral purposes.
|
Community board |
Population* |
Number of members^ |
Population per member |
Deviation from community board average population per member |
% deviation from community board average population per member |
|
Coast Community Board |
1,740 |
4 |
435 |
N/A |
N/A |
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.
The determination is available on the Commission’s website: Recent Determinations - Local Government Commission (lgc.govt.nz)
Penny Langley
Chief Executive Officer