Representation review pānui 15 - Councils

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to our latest pānui. This update covers:

• Progress around the motu
• Final steps and boundary plans
• Stats NZ – Annual Boundary Release 2025

Progress around the motu

Since our last pānui, we have held hearings for several councils and released further determinations. 

All hearings are broadcast live to our YouTube channel, and all determinations are loaded onto our website. 

A snapshot of progress is as follows: 

Completed representation review with no appeals received (and no further action required by the Commission)

• Ashburton District Council
• Buller District Council
• Carterton District Council
• Central Hawke's Bay District Council
• Clutha District Council
• Gore District Council
• Hauraki District Council
• Kaipara District Council
• Kawerau District Council 
• Napier District Council
• Waikato Regional Council
• Waimate District Council
• Waipa District Council
• Wairoa District Council
• Waitomo District Council
• Westland District Council

Completed representation review with no submissions received (and no further action required by the Commission)

• Chatham Islands Council
• Grey District Council
• Kaikoura District Council
• West Coast Regional Council

Determination issued by the Commission

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council 
• Central Otago District Council
• Far North District Council
• Hurunui District Council
• Hutt City Council
• Southland District Council
• Thames-Coromandel District Council 
• Timaru District Council 
• Waitaki District Council

Appeals received, hearing scheduled

• Auckland Council
• Ōpōtiki District Council
• Otago Regional Council
• Southland Regional Council
• South Wairarapa District Council
• Tasman District Council
• Western Bay of Plenty District Council
• Selwyn District Council

Appeals received, awaiting determination (no hearing)

• Environment Canterbury 
• Kapiti Coast District Council

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

• Greater Wellington Regional Council

Final steps and boundary plans

As a reminder, all councils that have completed their representation reviews without a determination being required should have notified the following organisations of their final representation arrangements: 

• The Local Government Commission
• The Surveyor-General 
• The Government Statisticians 
• The Remuneration Authority 

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

If your council requires a determination, the Commission will provide copies of the determination to each organisation. 

Section 19Y of the Local Electoral Act requires a plan of each constituency, ward, community or subdivision to be certified by the Surveyor-General. Certification of boundary plans is carried out by LINZ. 

If the Commission determines your council's representation arrangements, we will arrange to produce any required boundary plans, at the council's cost. We will be in touch with you directly if any boundary plans are required following our determination. 

If the Commission is not required to determine your council's representation arrangements, then you will be responsible for arranging for any new boundary plans to be completed and certified by LINZ. Further information about producing your own boundary plans is included in pānui 14. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions about doing so. 

Stats NZ - Annual Boundary Release 2025

The latest Stats NZ geographic boundaries annual release is now available. Boundaries can be viewed and compared on the Stats NZ geographic boundary viewer. 

The release this year was driven largely by the local government boundary reorganisation between the Kawerau and Whakatane districts, which took effect on 1 September 2024. These changes are reflected in the 2025 boundaries. 

Where geographic boundaries or names have changed, new verisions have been published in the 2025 geographic boundary annual release. For an updated list of geographies, refer to our current geographic boundaries table. 

For further information about changes to Stats NZ's geographic boundaries annual release, including a planned release schedule up to 2028, please refer here. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Stats NZ geospatial team at geography@stats.govt.nz 

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.