Following public consultation, Auckland Council has publicly notified its final proposal for representation arrangements across the region ahead of the 2025 local body elections. This means Aucklanders can submit an appeal or objection if they wish, from today until 3 November.
Councillor Julie Fairey, chair of the council’s Joint Governance Working Party that has led the extensive review, says she’s pleased to have reached an outcome shaped by submissions from Aucklanders.
“This has been a huge piece of work for staff and elected members, and the communities most impacted, and I want to thank them for their mahi. The submissions and feedback shaped the final proposal significantly, as in the recommendations for the Rodney subdivisions and keeping Parnell and Newmarket in the Ōrākei ward,” she says.
Councils are required to review their elected representation arrangements at least every six years. This includes reviewing the number of councillors in the Governing Body and the number of members of local boards.
The council must also review whether members are elected from the whole area, or by electoral areas such as wards for councillors and subdivisions for local board members. There are rules which require the council to provide effective representation of communities of interest and, where there are electoral areas, spread representation evenly.
The final proposal amends the initial proposal in a couple of ways. It amends boundaries and names of subdivisions in the Rodney Local Board area. It also amends ward boundaries in Central Auckland. No changes have been made to proposals for Howick Local Board subdivisions or local board minor boundary changes.
In early November, any appeals and objections that have been received will be referred to the Local Government Commission (LGC) to make an independent decision.
Aucklanders can expect to hear an outcome on the council’s final proposal by April 2025, allowing time for changes to be introduced before next year’s council elections.
The final proposal includes these changes to current boundaries:
Central Auckland wards
The boundaries of the Waitematā and Gulf Ward, Ōrākei Ward, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward and Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa Ward will realign with local board boundaries, except that:
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Parnell and Newmarket to remain in Ōrākei ward
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St Johns to remain in the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward
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Eden Terrace to remain in the Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward.
North Shore wards
North Shore/ Albany wards - the boundary between the wards will move to include the Bayview area and align with the proposed local board boundary along Sunset Road.
Minor local board boundary changes
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Upper Harbour / Devonport-Takapuna – all of Saunders Reserve to be in Upper Harbour
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Kaipātiki / Upper Harbour:
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boundary will run along Sunset Road
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land near Kereru Reserve to Upper Harbour
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area near Bayview, north of Glendhu Road
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Kaipātikti Puketāpapa / Maungakiekie-Tāmaki - all of Taumanu Reserve to Maungakiekie-Tāmaki.
Rodney Local Board subdivisions
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Northern Rodney (2 members)
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Southern Kaipara (2 members)
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Warkworth (2 members)
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Kumeū (2 members)
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Dairy Flat (1 member)
The boundary between the Northern Rodney and Southern Kaipara subdivisions has changed to include Kaukapakapa in the Southern Kaipara subdivision.
Howick Local Board subdivisions
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Howick, 3 members (no change)
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Pakuranga, 3 members (no change)
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Botany, 2 members (changed area)
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Flat Bush, 3 members (new subdivision).
Variances to the 10 percent rule
Decisions were made to prioritise communities of interest, resulting in the number of people represented by each elected member in a subdivision area not being within 10 percent of the average for the whole local board area (which is the ideal population-based ratio):
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Hibiscus and Bays Local Board
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Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board
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Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board
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Franklin Local Board.
For more detail, visit AKhaveyoursay.representation.
