Representation Review
Arotakenga Kaikōwhiri
Tō Reo - Mō ngā Kaikōwhiri a-Rohe
Your Voice – For Local Representation
We are reviewing how the South Taranaki District Council represents our communities by way of a Representation Review.
All councils are required to review their representation every 6 years.
In November 2020, Council decided to establish a Māori ward/s and that decision triggered the need to review our Council representation for the local body elections in 2022 and 2025.
What's happened so far
On 4 August 2021 the Council adopted an Initial Proposal for consultation which comprised a Mayor elected at large, 13 councillors elected from four general wards and two Māori wards.
Formal consultation on the Initial Proposal was undertaken between 12 August to 23 September 2021.
39 submissions were received with the majority of submitters supporting the Council’s Initial Proposal.
On 11 October the Council adopted their Final Proposal with some minor changes to the ward boundaries between the Taranaki Coastal and Eltham-Kaponga general wards.
The Local Electoral Act allows for any person who made a submission to appeal and any person may lodge an objection to the Final Proposal. The objection/appeal period closes at 5pm on Friday 26 November 2021.
Final Proposal for Representation Arrangements
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On 11 October 2021 the South Taranaki District Council considered the submissions received on its initial proposal regarding representation arrangements for the South Taranaki District, to apply for at least the local body elections to be held on 8 October 2022.
The Council received 39 submissions on its proposal. 22 submissions supported the Council’s initial proposal, five supported the proposal with some changes to boundaries and the number of councillors, and six submissions did not support the proposal.
In addition, four submissions were unable to considered as they did not relate to the representation review.
Key findings from the submissions were:
- 24 submissions agreed to retain 13 councillors;
- 3 submissions considered that 13 councillors were too many for the District;
- 2 submissions considered that there should be an additional councillor added to the Taranaki-Coastal General Ward;
- 2 submissions suggested that the Te Hāwera General Ward should be divided in two;
- 4 submissions did not support the proposed boundary along Ōeo Road between the Eltham-Kaponga and Taranaki Coastal General Wards;
- 27 submissions agreed to establish two Māori wards;
- 26 submissions agreed to retain the four community boards;
- 5 submissions proposed names for the two Māori wards.
As a result of the submissions received and to reflect communities of interest, the Council amended the boundary between the Taranaki Coastal and Eltham-Kaponga general wards. The boundary has been moved from Ōeo Road to Auroa Road and follows the mesh block boundaries south of Skeet Road.
The Council also resolved to name the proposed West Māori Ward, Te Kūrae Māori Ward and the proposed East Māori Ward, Te Tai Tonga Māori Ward as these names are considered more appropriate for these wards.
The Council rejected some matters raised in submissions for the following reasons:
- The points raised to increase the number of councillors were rejected based on the support received in other submissions to retain the proposed number of 13 councillors;
- The points raised to decrease the number of councillors were rejected based on the support received in other submissions to retain the proposed number of 13 councillors and reducing the number of councillors would not provide effective representation;
- The submissions recommending the Te Hāwera General Ward be divided into two was rejected as this would split a community of interest;
- Submissions received on the principle of Māori wards were out of the scope of the representation review process.
The final proposal is:
Council Representation
It is proposed that the South Taranaki District Council comprise the mayor elected at large and 13 councillors elected from six wards that reflect the identified communities of interest:
| Ward Names | Number of Elected Members | Ward Boundaries and Changes |
| Te Kūrae Māori Ward | 1 | A new Māori Ward bounded to the north by the District boundary; its east boundary following State Highway 3 from the northern boundary of the District through Eltham to the intersection with Mountain Road; Mountain Road to its intersection with Ketemarae Road; a line north west to Boylan Road; Boylan Road to Austin Road; Austin Road to its intersection with Ketemarae Road; Ketemarae Road to its intersection with State Highway 3; State Highway 3 south to South Road; west along South Road to the Waihi Stream and south along the Stream to the coast; and the coast to the south and west. This ward largely encompasses the parts of the Taranaki Iwi and Ngāruahine rohe that are within the South Taranaki District. This ward does not meet the +/-10% population requirement but the boundary was defined by Ngāruahine and Ngāti Ruanui. |
| Te Tai Tonga Māori Ward | 1 | A new Māori Ward bounded to the north and east by the District boundary; its west boundary following State Highway 3 from the northern boundary of the District through Eltham to the intersection with Mountain Road; Mountain Road to its intersection with Ketemarae Road; a line northwest to Boylan Road; Boylan Road to Austin Road; Austin Road to its intersection with Ketemarae Road; Ketemarae Road to its intersection with State Highway 3; State Highway 3 south to South Road; west along South Road to the Waihi Stream and south along the Stream to the coast; and the coast to the southwest. This ward largely encompasses the parts of the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi rohe that are within the South Taranaki District. This ward does not meet the +/-10% population requirement but the boundary was defined by Ngāti Ruanui and Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi. |
| Taranaki Coastal General Ward | 2 | Bounded to the north by the District boundary; to the northeast by Auroa Road; to the south by a line south of Skeet Road; to the southeast by Inaha Road to the coast, and to the south and west by the coast. |
| Eltham-Kaponga General Ward | 2 | Bounded to the west by Auroa Road; to the north by the District boundary; to the south by a line south of Skeet Road; Tempsky, Ōmahuru, Onewhaia and Austin Roads, the Mangemange Stream and the current ward boundary to the south and east of Moeroa and north to the District boundary. |
| Te Hāwera General Ward | 5 | Bounded to the west by Inaha Road; to the north by Tempsky, Ōmahuru, Onewhaia and Austin Roads, the Mangemange Stream and the current ward boundary to the Moeawatea Stream and south west to the Manawapou River and the coast; and to the south by the coast. |
| Pātea General Ward | 2 | Bounded by the current ward boundaries from the coast at the Manawapou River northeast to the Moeawatea Stream and north to the District boundary; to the east by the District boundary and to the south by the coast. |
Community Board Representation
It is proposed that the South Taranaki District Council will include four community boards, each represented by four community board elected members and one appointed member (a councillor representative):
| Community Board Name | Number of Representatives | Description of Community Board Area |
| Taranaki Coastal Community Board | 4 elected members and 1 appointed member being a Taranaki-Coastal General Ward councillor or Te Kūrae Māori Ward councillor | Same as the Taranaki Coastal General Ward |
| Eltham-Kaponga Community Board | 4 elected members and 1 appointed member, being an Eltham-Kaponga general ward councillor or the Te Tai Tonga Māori ward councillor or the Te Kūrae Māori ward councillor | Same as the Eltham-Kaponga General Ward |
| Te Hāwera Community Board | 4 elected members and 1 appointed member, being a Te Hāwera General Ward councillor or the Te Tai Tonga Māori ward councillor or the Te Kūrae Māori ward councillor | Same as the Te Hāwera General Ward |
| Pātea Community Board | 4 elected members and 1 appointed member, being a Pātea General Ward councillor or the Te Tai Tonga Māori Ward councillor | Same as the Pātea General Ward |
Appeals and Objections
Any person who has 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.
Any person may lodge an objection to the Council’s final proposal. An objection must specify the matters to which the objection relates.
Appeals and objections must be made in writing and must be received by the Council no later than 5 pm on Friday 26 November 2021.
Click here to fill out the online form if you want to lodge an Appeal or Objection.
Appeal/objection forms are available from the Hāwera Administration office or any LibraryPlus and from the Council’s website www.southtaranaki.com and should state your name, address, telephone number and email address. Appeals and objections are to be addressed to:
- Waid Crockett, Chief Executive
- Send an email to policy@stdc.govt.nz
- Post it to us at Private Bag 902, Hāwera, 4640
Further information
Please direct any queries regarding the Council’s decision to Becky Wolland phone 0800 111 323 or 06 278 0555.
Waid Crockett
Chief Executive
South Taranaki District Council
21 October 2021
Key Dates
| 4 August | Council – Adopt Initial proposal for formal consultation |
| 12 August | Public Notice |
| 12 August - 23 September | Formal consultation on an initial proposal (1 option only) |
| 29 September | Hearing |
| 11 October | Council – considers all submissions and makes a final proposal |
| 14 October | Public Notice on final proposal |
| 14 October - 26 November | Objection period |
| 6 December | Final proposal goes to Local Government Commission |
| 21 February 2022 | Local Government Commission makes Final Determination |
Final Determination
The Local Government Commission have considered and accepted the Council’s final proposal on representation for the South Taranaki District. The representation arrangements will be used for the Local Body Elections on 8 October 2022. The full report from the Local Government Commission can be found here.
What are we reviewing?
- How many councillors should represent the District? (South Taranaki can have between 5 and 29 councillors*)
- Are they're elected from wards or ‘at large’ across the whole region, or a mix of both?
- Should we retain our community boards?
- Should the Māori representatives be elected from one ward or two?
* The amount of money set aside to pay the Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members is determined by an independent body called the Remuneration Authority. It is based on the population of the District. This means whether you have 5 Councillors or 29 Councillors the pool of funding available stays the same.
Council must consider 3 key factors to ensure effective representation of our communities. This is required for both the Māori and General electoral populations:
- Communities of interest
- Effective representation of communities of interest
- Fair representation of electors
What is Fair and Effective Representation?
The people elected in your ward are your voice and advocate at the Council table.
This review looks at Council’s membership to ensure we're providing the right representation for our people and their communities.
Each elected member should represent a similar number of people. If Council decides to divide the district into wards, in legislation each ward councillor must represent the same number of people, plus or minus 10%.
In deciding effective representation, questions in relation to accessibility to elected members, size and configuration of an area also need to be considered, for example:
- Would the population have reasonable access to councillors and vice versa?
- Would councillors be able to effectively represent the views of their area?
- Would councillors be able to attend public meetings through their area and provide reasonable opportunities for the residents to have face-to-face meetings?
What does fair representation mean?
This determines where boundaries should be. It means that where there's wards members should be equally spread among the population:
- The ratio of population to member within one ward should not vary from the average ratio for the whole of Council by more than 10%. This is called the +/- 10% rule.
- It's possible for a council to not comply with this rule if complying would lead to a community of interest being split or distinct communities of interest joined. In this situation the Local Government Commission makes the final decision.
The Patea ward is currently over represented (by 9.6%) as determined by the Local Government Commission in 2019.
About Communities of Interest
As part of the review, we must identify the district’s communities of interest. Local Government Commission guidelines recognise a community of interest according to 3 criteria:
- Perceptual: a sense of belonging to a place
- Functional: meet service requirements - like shops and amenities
- Political: the representation of community interests.
There can be physical or topographical features that define a community of interest, and similar communities can be grouped. These groupings can be by ethnicity or the activities that take place in a community that bring people together. Communities do change over time.
About Māori wards
In November 2020, Council decided to establish a Māori ward/s for the next 2 local body elections (2022 and 2025), alongside General wards, under the Local Electoral Act.
What are Māori wards?
Māori wards are similar to general wards, however only those on the Māori electoral roll vote for Māori ward candidates. Māori wards are the local government equivalent of the Māori parliamentary electorates.
Who can stand for election in a Māori ward?
Anyone can stand for election in a Māori ward but they cannot stand for both general and Māori wards at the same time. Candidates in Māori wards do not have to be of Māori descent.
At election time, who can vote for Māori ward candidates?
Only electors on the Māori electoral roll can vote for candidates standing in their Māori ward. Electors on the Māori electoral roll cannot vote for candidates standing in the general wards.
Should I be on the Māori roll or the General roll?
If you are of Māori descent you can enrol in either the general or Māori electoral rolls.
Do Māori ward councillors only represent Māori?
No. All councillors, whether elected from general or Māori wards, represent the South Taranaki District.
How many Māori ward councillors would there be?
The number of councillors elected depends on a formula set by legislation (Schedule 1A of the Local Electoral Act 2001). Each councillor (for both Māori and general wards) should represent a similar number of people. As part of the representation review process, the number of councillors (in total) will be considered.
About Community Boards
As part of the review, Council must consider whether community boards are necessary to provide effective representation for local communities within the district.
The role of a community board is to:
- Represent, and act as an advocate for, the interests of its community.
- Consider and report on all matters referred to it by the Council, or any matter of interest or concern to the community board.
- Maintain an overview of services provided by the Council within the community.
- Prepare an annual submission to the Council for expenditure within the community.
- Communicate with community organisations and special interest groups within the community.
- Undertake any other responsibilities that are delegated to it by the Council.
Community boards have their own status in legislation and are not a committee of Council. They're not local authorities and therefore cannot set rates, raise funds, enter into contracts, deal in property, pass bylaws or appoint staff.
Elections for community board members take place at the same time as the Council elections. A board must be between 4 - 12 members. It can include both elected and appointed members, but at least 4 members must be elected and the total number of appointed members must be less than half the total number of members.
Initial Proposal
Based on this feedback the Council agreed on option 3 becoming the Initial Proposal for formal consultation.
Under the Initial Proposal the Council would be made up of 13 Councillors and a Mayor. The Councillors would consist of two Māori wards with one councillor elected from each ward and four general wards with two councillors elected from the Eltham-Kaponga ward; two from the Pātea ward; two from the Taranaki Coastal ward; and five councillors from Te Hāwera ward.
The ward boundaries shift slightly in the Initial Proposal.
The western boundary of Eltham-Kaponga Ward has moved west from Auroa Road to Ōeo Road.
Part of the southern boundary of Eltham-Kaponga Ward has moved south from Skeet Road to Tempsky, Ōmahuru and Austin Roads and Mangemange Stream.
Te Hāwera Ward western boundary has moved west to Inaha Road (and now includes Okaiawa)
Apart from the proposed boundary changes to the wards there are no changes to the Community Boards.
You can view the Initial Proposal in a visual map view by clicking here for the general wards and here for the Māori wards.
