Otago Boundary Representation Review 2018

Today the Otago Regional Council voted to endorse the status quo on its Otago boundary representation arrangements, prior to the 2019 elections.

Under the Local Electoral Act 2001, all local authorities are required to carry out reviews of their representation arrangements every six years. This consideration must take into account the community of interest, effective representation and fair representation. The Local Government Commission views community of interest as being the area to which one feels a sense of belonging and looks to for social service and economical support.

ORC Staff recommended council endorse the status quo option as the proposed representation arrangements for consultation purposes. The current ratio is 12 councillors per population between 16,815 and 20,551 per representative, which generally falls within the threshold for fair representation.

Council’s last review was carried out in 2012 for the 2013 and 2016 elections, with 12 councillors across four constituencies being elected:

Moeraki – 1 Councillor
Dunstan – 3 Councillors
Molyneux – 2 Councillors
Dunedin – 6 Councillors

Council considered options for its representation arrangements at its meeting on 27th June 2018 but deferred any decisions until it had an opportunity to discuss them in today’s workshop.

Now that the proposed representation arrangements have been endorsed, the public will be notified, and a submission period will follow. Submission opportunities will close towards the end of September.

A Hearings Committee, consisting of all Councillors, will hear all submissions in October 2018 with a recommending report then considered at the Council meeting later in the year for a final decision.

Submissions will open shortly.

ENDS

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