South Wairarapa District Council has considered submissions received and resolved to confirm its initial proposal to retain the status quo for representation arrangements for the local elections to be held on 12 October 2019, and subsequent elections until altered.

Eight submissions were received on the proposed representation arrangements, which were publically notified on 15 August 2018. In summary those submissions were as follows:

• Two submissions supported moving the Featherston/Greytown ward boundary so the Tauherenikau area up to No. 1 Line would be in the Featherston rather than Greytown ward.

• Three submissions supported moving the Featherston/Martinborough ward boundary so the area known as Kahutara would be in the Featherston rather than the Martinborough ward.

• Two submissions discussed the number of Councillors appointed to community boards – one suggested it should be one; the other suggested it should be three.

• One submission discussed consistency of consulting with the community and gaining community input. Another raised the issue of including more provisions for Tangata Whenua in the standing orders. These two submissions were outside the scope of this review but Council may choose to consider them at a later date.

This Review of Representation Arrangements was pursuant to section 19H of the Local Electoral Act 2001.

Final proposal for representation arrangements:

• The Council will comprise nine members, three each elected from the existing three wards (Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough), and the Mayor who will be elected at large.

The three wards reflect the following identified communities of interest:

Featherston Ward	The summit of the Remutuka and Tararua Ranges on the northwest, the Tauherenikau River and State Highway 53 on the northeast, Ruamahanga River and the east side of Lake Onoke on the southeast, and the coastline of Palliser Bay on the south.
Greytown Ward	The summit of the Tararua Ranges on the northwest, the Hector and Waiohine Rivers on the northeast, the Ruamahanga River on the east and Tauherenikau River and State Highway 53 on the southwest.
Martinborough Ward	The Ruamahanga River on the northwest, the Pohatuniki Stream, the Whangaehu River, the Wainuioru River, and the Waihingaia Stream on the northeast, the coastline round to Lake Onoke on the southeast and southwest.

The population each ward will represent will be as follows:

Ward	Estimated Resident Population as at 30/06/17	Members	Population Per Member
Featherston Ward	3,180	3	1,060
Greytown Ward	3,460	3	1,153
Martinborough Ward	3,600	3	1,200
Totals	10,240	9

• There will be three Community Boards elected (Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough), one for each ward. Each will have four elected members and two Councillors appointed from the three elected to represent each ward.

Reasons for rejection of submissions:

• Eight submissions is a low number, compared with the 190 submissions received in the 2006 Representation Review.

• The current wards comply with the legislative requirements, and predicted growth patterns for the district indicate that compliance will continue for future years.

• The existing ward and community board structure is well understood by the electors and the Council is satisfied it will continue to provide effective representation for the district’s communities of interest.

• The Council proposes to undertake a subsequent Representation Review in three years’ time to allow for the incorporation of new census data and information from the Council’s spatial planning work.

Any person who made a submission on the Council’s initial proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person’s submission.

Appeals must be made in writing and must be received by 5.00pm on Monday 3 December 2018.

Appeals are to be forwarded to: Paul Crimp, Chief Executive Officer, 19 Kitchener Street, Martinborough, or emailed to enquiries@swdc.govt.nz.

Paul Crimp

Chief Executive Officer

Related Documents:
Council Workshop Notes 26 October 2018