South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) has adopted the Final Proposal for its representation at the 2025 and 2028 local body elections.
The Final Proposal consists of the Mayor who is elected at large, three councillors each for the Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough general wards, and the inclusion for 2025 of the Māori ward, which was named Te Karu o Te Ika a Māui at the 30 October Council meeting. Community Boards would remain for each of the town wards.
Under the Local Electoral Act, SWDC must consider its representation arrangements every six years. A Representation Review is a process to ensure that communities are represented at Council fairly and effectively. The review must consider things like how many elected members there are, community boards, ward names and their boundaries.
In September 2024, SWDC consulted on an Initial Proposal (The Mayor, two councillors each for the Featherston, Greytown and Martinborough general wards, two at large councillors, and the Māori ward). 129 submissions were received however following deliberations on 2 October by the Strategy Working Committee, a resolution was made to amend the Initial Proposal to retain the current representation arrangements, with the addition of the Māori ward. Reasons to retain the current arrangement included that the current arrangement is well understood and supported by the community, the current arrangement allows the greater number of Councillors to be able to provide representation to the different communities of interest and that the feedback from submissions during the consultation were broadly not in favour of the Initial Proposal.
There was general support from the community and elected members to establish a group to represent the interests of South Wairarapa’s rural communities, and a report to establish a Coastal and Rural Advisory Group (CRAG) will be presented at the Strategy Working Committee meeting on 13 November.
“Council is confident that retaining the current arrangement, the introduction of the Te Karu o Te Ika a Māui ward, and a group to represent our coastal and rural communities will provide for effective representation for the next triennium”, shares SWDC Deputy Mayor, Melissa Sadler-Futter.
A Public Notice for the Final Proposal is now on the council website, where any person or organisation can submit an objection against the Council’s decision, which must relate to matters within the Final Proposal. These will be viewed and responded to by the local government commissioner, ahead of their final decision being made in early 2025. Submissions are open until 1 December 2024.
ENDS
