Representation review

Council is reviewing its representation arrangements in advance of the local body elections in 2013.
Consultation has begun on the Representation Review.  You now have an opportunity to tell us what you think.
You can make a submission on the initial proposal. Submissions will be accepted up to 4pm Friday 15 June 2012.
You are invited to the public meetings that will be held:

• Ruatoria, Uepohatu Hall, Whakarua Park - Wednesday 9 May 2012 at 6pm
• Te Karaka, Scout Hall - Thursday 17 May 2012 at 6pm
• HB Williams Memorial Library - Tuesday 22 May 2012 at 6pm

Pamphlet - Representation Review - How do you think Council should represent you? (2mb)

What is a Representation Review?

A Representation Review helps to determine how many elected members (councilors) there should be and how they represent the public. The Local Electoral Act 2001 requires all local bodies to review their representation arrangements at least once every six years. Council has now decided on an initial (draft) proposal. The Council is proposing to keep all of the current representation arrangements for the next election.

What has been considered?

Since August 2011, the Council’s Representation Review Committee has been meeting to consider a number of scenarios as to how the Council should represent you for the 2013 local body elections. The review considered:

• how many councillors should represent the district
• should councillors be voted for by ward or by district-wide voting
• should the district have community boards
• should Maori wards be established
• which electoral system should be used (First-Past-the-Post of Single Transferable Vote)

Council has now decided on an “initial” proposal on what it considers should be its future representation arrangements.  Council is proposing no changes for the next local body elections in 2013.

An alternative proposal was presented to Council for consideration in March.  Reducing the number of wards from 7 to 5 and the number of councillors from 14 to 12 was proposed.  This proposal would be close to meeting the Local Government Commission guidelines.  Council decided against the alternative proposal.

Council's initial proposal - no change

The Council is proposing to keep all of the current representation arrangements for the next local body elections in 2013. Therefore Council proposes to:

• retain the 7 wards, their names and boundaries
• have 14 councillors elected from 7 wards and the mayor elected by the whole district
• there will be no community boards
• there will be no Maori wards
• keep the First-Past-the-Post electoral system

Proposed wards, names and boundaries

We currently have 7 electoral wards in the district (6 in the rural areas and one in the city). The Council proposes to retain the same ward names and boundaries: Gisborne ward, Taruheru-Patutahi, Cook ward, Waikohu ward, Uawa ward, Waiapu ward and Matakaoa ward. The 7 ward boundaries acknowledge 7 ‘communities of interest’ within the district, taking into account:

• matters of importance to each community
• the matters relevant to defining communities of interest set out in the Local Electoral Act
• agreements made when local government amalgamated in 1989

Elected members

The Council is proposing to keep the same number of councillors as we have now - 14 councillors (elected members) to be elected from 7 wards, and the mayor (elected by the whole district). The decision relies on:

• agreements made when local government amalgamated in 1989
• Council’s ‘unitary’ status
• the challenges of effectively representing people and communities of interest
• having regard for the large area of the district, its remoteness and sparse population and relative isolation

Representation requirements

Section 19V (2) of the Local Electoral Act requires that for each ward a councillor must represent the same number of people, plus or minus 10%. In the Gisborne district this would mean that each councillor would need to represent between 2993 and 3658 people.

Based on 30 June 2011 estimates, the following table describes Council’s initial proposal based on the number of people councillors will represent. The Council acknowledges that as a consequence of achieving “effective” representation in rural areas, 5 of those wards will be overrepresented because they are isolated. There is under-representation of the electoral population in the Gisborne and Taruheru-Patutahi wards.

The following table describes Council’s existing and proposed future ward structure based on the number of people:

Next steps

1. Submissions open – make a submission on the initial proposal.  Close at 4pm 15 June 2012.
2. Hearings – held on 4-5 July 2012 for those who wish to speak to their submission
3. Final proposal – based on submissions Council will develop a final proposal and adopt it on 26 July 2012
4. Formal appeals or objections – public can make formal appeals, objections and or present petitions on the final proposal.
5. Local Government Commission - if appeals, objections and or petitions are received on the final proposal, the Local Government Commission will determine how the district will be represented for the next 2 Council elections beginning in 2013. 

Documents and further information 

Media release: No changes proposed to Council's representation arrangements - 8 May 2012

Report to Council Thursday 26 April 2012 -Representation Review Initial Proposal

Report to Council Thursday 29 March 2012 - Representation Review

Report to Council Thursday 27 October 2011 - Representation Review -Maori Wards

Report to Representation Review sub-committee 29 September - Representation Review - No.3

Report to Council Thursday 25 August 2011 - Electoral System 2013

Report to Representation Review sub-committee 25 August - Representation Review - No.2

Report to Council Thursday 28 July 2011 - Representation Review - No.1

Local Government Commission - Guidelines to assist Local Authorities in Undertaking Representation Reviews

Pamphlet - Representation Review (124kb)