Changes to Auckland Council’s ward and local board subdivision boundaries are proposed under a statutory representation review required under the Local Electoral Act.
The proposed changes, agreed at today’s meeting of the council’s Governing Body, will affect how some people would vote at next year’s local body elections.
Mayor Phil Goff says the Governing Body had a robust discussion on the recommendations put forward by the Joint Governance Working Party.
“We have listened carefully to feedback from our local boards and the ward representatives around the table today. It is now critical that we receive feedback from our communities on how they wish to be represented,” he says.
The six-yearly review – Auckland’s first following amalgamation – is designed to ensure the public interest is fairly represented on the council as ward populations grow or change over time.
Legislation requires the ratio of population to member in a ward to vary by no more than 10 per cent from the average across the whole of Auckland. Because of population growth, some wards do not comply with this requirement. The same rule applies to subdivisions in local board areas.
The proposed changes would mean that some people would be included in a different ward to what they currently live in. Their local board area would stay the same, but internal subdivision boundaries of the local board may change.
The review affects only council wards and not local board boundaries other than their internal subdivision boundaries, for those who have them. The number of councillors will stay the same – 20 plus the mayor.
The council may also review whether local board members are elected by subdivisions or across the whole of a local board area.
Public consultation starts soon
The council will notify its proposals for public submissions on 8 August 2018. Detailed information and maps will then be available on the council’s website, including how the public can provide feedback on the proposal. The Governing Body will resolve its final proposals on 18 October 2018.
