Representation review pānui 14 - Councils

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to our latest pānui. This update covers:

• Progress around the motu
• What we need from you in the final stages
• Producing your own plans? What to do

Progress around the motu

Since our last pānui, the legislative deadlines for councils to resolve their final representation proposals has passed. All 41 councils carrying out representation reviews are nearing the end of the review process or have completed their reviews. A snapshot of progress is as follows:

Councils that have completed their representation review with no appeals received (and no further action required by the Commission)

• Ashburton District Council 
• Carterton District Council 
• Central Hawke’s Bay District Council 
• Gore District Council 
• Hauraki District Council 
• Napier City Council 
• Waikato Regional Council 
• Waimate District Council 
• Wairoa District Council 
• Waitomo District Council 
• Westland District Council

Determination issued by Commission

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council 
• Central Otago District Council  
• Far North District Council 
• Hurunui District Council 
• Timaru District Council 

Completed with no appeals received but non-compliant with the +/-10% rule (and a determination from the Commission required)

• Thames Coromandel District Council

Appeals received, hearing to be held

• Hutt City Council 
• Whanganui District Council 

Appeals received, awaiting decision on validity of appeals and/or whether to hold a hearing

• Auckland Council 
• Kawerau District Council 
• Ōpōtiki District Council 
• Southland Regional Council

Final proposals resolved, waiting for appeals

• Buller District Council 
• Clutha District Council 
• Environment Canterbury 
• Greater Wellington Regional Council 
• Kaipara District Council 
• Kapiti Coast District Council 
• Otago Regional Council 
• Selwyn District Council 
• South Wairarapa District Council 
• Southland District Council 
• Tasman District Council 
• Waipa District Council 
• Waitaki District Council 
• Western Bay of Plenty District Council 

What we need from you in the final stages

Thank you to everyone who is keeping us updated as your council nears the end its review.  Your updates help the Commission to assess the need for hearings and issue determinations in a timely way before the 10 April 2025 deadline.  Here is what the Commission needs from you in the final stages. 

After the council has resolved its final representation proposal 

Our last pānui included a reminder of who you must notify of your council’s final proposal, and what you should provide to the Commission.  You can view the details here: Pānui 13 

When a Commission determination is required  

Any final proposals that attract appeals or objections and/or have elements outside of the +/- 10% range must be referred to the Commission for determination.   

Non-compliant proposals 

If your council’s proposal has elements that do not comply with the +/-10% rule, you must refer it to the Commission under section 19V(4) of the Act.  If applies to your council, please formally notify us by emailing info@lgc.govt.nz with the following information: 

• Confirmation of whether appeals or objections have been received 
• Identification of the aspects of the council’s proposal that are non-compliant with section 19V(2) of the Act, and the degree of non-compliance 
• Statement to the effect that the council is referring its representation proposal to the Commission for determination under section 19V(4) of the Act 

Appeals and objections 

The deadline for providing appeals and objections to the Commission is 20 December 2024 (23 December for councils undertaking a shortened review).   

Please don’t wait for the legislative deadline.  We ask that you provide all appeals or objections to us as you receive them, starting as soon as you receive your first appeal or objection (upload to the “Appeals and Objections” CoLab folder). 

It is the Commission’s responsibility to assess the validity of appeals and objections.  This means you must provide all appeals and objections to us, regardless of whether you believe they are within the scope of the review.  Once we have all appeals and objections, we will communicate directly with appellants and objectors on the next steps in the process. 

We’ll be in touch with you directly once your appeals period has closed to talk through next steps for your Council.  In the meantime, if you are interested in how a Commission hearing is run you can view previous hearings on our YouTube channel: Local Government Commission - New Zealand - YouTube

When no Commission determination is required 

Your council’s representation proposal might be finalised at one of several different points: 

• If no submissions were received on your council’s initial proposal and the proposal complies with the +/-10% rule set out in section 19V(2), or 
• If there are no appeals or objections on your council’s final proposal and the proposal complies with the +/-10% rule set out in section 19V(2). 

In the above situations, the council’s representation arrangements become final. No Commission determination is required. Your council must then: 

• Issue a public notice of the finalised representation arrangements, as soon as possible.  See Appendices F and G of the Commission’s Representation Review Guidelines for example public notices, and 
• Prepare plans to reflect any changes to representation arrangements (see below).   

Before your council’s representation arrangements can take effect for the 2025 local authority elections, plans reflecting those arrangements must be certified by the Surveyor-General (LINZ) (section 19Y(3)). 

Producing your own plans? What to do

If your council’s final representation arrangements have altered any electoral boundaries and the Commission does not need to determine your council’s representation arrangements, the council must prepare new boundary plans to be certified by LINZ. All boundary plans must conform with the relevant LINZ standard (LINZS50000) for plans of local authority electoral areas. You can find LINZS50000 at this link: LINZS50000

If your council does not have in-house resources to complete boundary plans to the relevant standard, you may need to use a mapping provider. Please contact us if you would like further information about this.   

If the Commission determines your council’s representation arrangements, we will arrange the production of plans at the council’s cost once the determination is issued. 

You can find current local government boundary plans on our website at this link: Local government boundary plans - Local Government Commission

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 merits taking into account the information available to the Commission.