South Wairarapa District Council has opened consultation on its Representation Review and welcomes the South Wairarapa community to have their say to ensure they are represented at Council fairly and effectively.

Representation Reviews are required every six years to allow Councils to look at existing representation arrangements and whether they are serving the representation needs of their communities. This means considering things such as the number of councillors and how they are elected, the existence of wards and their boundaries and community boards. Factors such as population data, demographic trends and projected population growth are also considered.

Currently, South Wairarapa District Council representation arrangements consist of three General Wards with three councillors each, a community board for each General Ward, and the Mayor.

After reviewing the current representation arrangements, Council adopted an Initial Proposal on 31 July. Councillor Aidan Ellims says “As Council, we took on board insights into how people within South Wairarapa thought we could improve representation across the district. We looked at particular communities of interest, such as our rural and coastal communities which may be under-represented. These views were used to guide our Initial Proposal which has some adjustments to our current arrangement.” 

The Initial Proposal outlines two changes to the status quo:

• A reduction in the number of councillors elected through General Wards, from three councillors from each ward, to two.
• The introduction of two councillors at large (by everyone), which sit across the district.

The proposal also includes a Māori ward with one councillor. Council has already decided to establish a Māori ward and will not revisit the decision as part of this consultation.

“The proposal to introduce at large councillors will help support the district as a whole, while maintaining the important role our ward councillors play in recognising the specific needs of their communities. It’s important we hear from as many of our residents as possible as their meaningful feedback on how they feel represented in South Wairarapa will help inform our final decision” shares Cr Ellims.

Consultation runs from Monday 5 August until Sunday 8 September.

Full details of the consultation, rationale and how to provide your feedback is available at: swdc.govt.nz/representation-review/

ENDS

Media contact Email  media@swdc.govt.nz