Number of wards and city councillors being reviewed

Manukau City Council has decided to review its ward boundaries and other aspects of its democratic representation arrangements this year. The review is required by law and must be done at least every six years.

The review will include whether there should be elections on a ward or city-wide basis or a combination of both, the names of the wards, how many councillors there should be in each ward, whether there should continue to be community boards and whether more councillors are needed.

Having carried out an initial review, the Council will put forward a proposal for public consideration and seek feedback. The public will have at least a month to make submissions. The outcome will form the basis for the local body elections next year.

The Council believes that the rapid growth in housing focused on the Botany area means the current level of representation is insufficient to fairly represent residents in these areas. One possible outcome could be a new ward for Botany.

Development is going ahead faster than expected and the area stretching from southern Howick to Manurewa will be full before 2010, rather than by 2015 as was initially predicted.

Manukau City mayor Sir Barry Curtis says he is a strong supporter of the review. “It’s overdue. Due to the fast growth we are experiencing, parts of the city are not getting fair representation. That is due to circumstances beyond our control but I am sure this oversight will be corrected by the review.”

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