Representation review pānui 10 - Councils

Kia ora koutou

Welcome to our latest pānui.  This update covers:

• Introduction of the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill
• Progress around the motu 
• What we need from you

Introduction of the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill proposing changes to Māori wards and constituencies

In pānui 8, we noted that The Minister of Local Government announced pending changes to the Local Electoral Act.   

The Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill proposing changes to Māori wards and constituencies has now been introduced and can be found at this link: Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill 46-1 (2024), Government Bill Contents – New Zealand Legislation

The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has prepared a fact sheet explaining the Bill: https://www.dia.govt.nz/maori-wards 

The Bill has been referred to the Justice Committee for consideration. Submissions to the select committee close this Wednesday, 29 May. Submissions can be made through this link:  Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill - New Zealand Parliament (www.parliament.nz) 

What do the changes mean for your council?

The Bill requires councils that established a Māori ward since 2020 without holding a poll following the 2021 changes will be required to hold a poll at the 2025 local elections or reverse their decisions on Māori wards. Reversing this decision would involve rescinding the decision if it has not yet been implemented, or disestablishing Māori wards if they are already in place.  

We note that the introduction of the amendment Bill may raise questions for your council’s representation review process. We would encourage you to look at the DIA fact sheet in the first instance. Otherwise please contact lgc@lgc.govt.nz  

LGC officials will be better placed to respond to questions following passing of the legislation. We will also be developing new guidelines for Councils who are going through a truncated representation review or reverting to the previous representation arrangements that existed prior to Māori wards being established.    

It is also important to note that if your council is considering disestablishing your Māori ward/constituency, the normal criteria will apply regarding fair and effective representation will apply for replacement arrangements.   

If you anticipate any changes to your representation review timelines, please advise the Commission of this.   

Councils will need to wait for the legislation to be enacted before making any decisions under the transitional arrangements. However, now is the time to consider what information your council will need to be able to make this decision and ensure that your elected members have the information available to them to inform this decision.  

Progress around the motu

All councils carrying out representation reviews are now well underway with preliminary engagement activities or have formally started the process. A snapshot of where various councils are up to in the process is as follows: 

Councils who have resolved their initial proposal:  

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council 
• Central Otago District Council  
• Chatham Islands Council  
• Far North District Council 
• Gore District Council  
• Grey District Council 
• Hauraki District Council 
• Hurunui District Council 
• Timaru District Council   
• Waikato Regional Council
• Westland District Council 

Councils who have completed consultation on their initial proposal:

• Central Otago District Council 
• Gore District Council 
• Hurunui District Council 
• Westland District Council

What we need from you

Thank you to the Councils who have sent in their initial proposals to the Commission. As a reminder, each local authority needs to keep the following organisations informed of its representation review’s progress: 

• The Surveyor-General  
• The Government Statistician, and 
• The Remuneration Authority

Territorial authorities and regional councils also need to provide each other with copies of their initial and final proposals. 

This is to help these organisations anticipate and plan the work required of them as result of representation reviews. 

Local authorities are required to provide the above parties a copy of the: 

• resolution on its initial proposals (section 19L) 
• public notice of its final proposals, if submissions were received on the initial  
• proposals (section 19N) 
• public notice of its final proposals, if no submissions were received on the initial proposals, or if no appeals and/or objections were received (section 19Y). 

What the Commission requires at this stage:

For this round of representation reviews, we’re asking that all councils submit documents via our file sharing platform ‘CoLab’. As councils reach the initial proposal point in their process, we will send an email from lgc@lgc.govt.nz with detailed instructions for using CoLab.   

We are requesting that you please upload to CoLab:  

• Initial proposal 
• Officer’s report  
• A copy of the resolution adopting the initial proposal  
• Initial proposal shapefile 
• A copy of your public notice  

Ngā mihi

The Local Government Commission Team

The information contained in this update is intended to support well-informed council decisions and good practice throughout the representation review process. Specific representation arrangements are decisions for each council. The information is provided by Commission officials and does not reflect a particular view or preference of the Commission for any specific representation arrangement. Where representation is determined by the Commission, each determination is considered on its own merit taking into account the information available to the Commission.