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Representation review

The council is conducting a representation review, which it is required to do every six years. The last review was in 2018.

The review process includes public consultation to gather feedback from the community. Any changes in council representation will take effect for the 2025 triennial elections.

The review is crucial to ensure compliance with the Local Electoral Act 2001 (LEA) and the principles outlined in the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA).

In this review, the council must consider several key factors, including fair representation, effective representation, and communities of interest. Factors such as population data, demographic trends and projected population growth are all considered.

What we’re proposing

Elected members

Currently, our representation arrangements consist of 14 councillors, with six general constituencies and two Māori constituencies. In August 2023, the council reaffirmed its commitment to retaining Māori constituencies for electoral processes.

As part of the review, council decided to continue to have 14 elected members, six general constituencies and two Māori constituencies.

Constituency boundaries

When the latest population statistics are applied, we've found that the Waihou general constituency doesn't comply with the fair representation rule of +/- 10%. In practice, this means the Waihou general constituency is over-represented.

The Waihou constituency comprises the entirety of the South Waikato and Matamata-Piako districts, Arahiwi (a small area within the Rotorua Lakes district) and part of the Hauraki district.

On 24 April 2024, the council made an initial resolution on the representation review. Councillors voted 11-1 to modify the boundary of the Waihou constituency to include the Waihi and Paeroa rural areas—currently in the Thames-Coromandel constituency—to meet the requirements for fair representation. The initial resolution would involve approximately 2400 people from the Thames-Coromandel constituency being incorporated into the Waihou constituency.

The initial proposal is based on current representation arrangements to maintain continuity wherever possible. However, the primary focus lies in addressing the existing representation imbalance by modifying the northeastern boundary of the Waihou general constituency.

Looking ahead, council acknowledges that other constituencies may face similar issues in the coming years due to population growth and shift. While detailed 2023 census data won't be available until after the current representation review, the council intends to revisit arrangements as soon as legislatively possible to allow better alignment with insights from the census data. That is signalled to occur in 2027.

Consultation open

Public submissions on the council proposal are now open. Following this, the council will hold hearings where submitters can choose to present their feedback to councillors in person. A final proposed representation arrangement will be made, taking into submissions.

Consultation closes at 5pm on Friday, 7 June 2024.