Waitakere City Council Chooses New System

Waitakere City Council has tonight chosen a four ward system of representation for the 2007 local body elections and beyond at its Council meeting.

The decision follows over 500 submissions and two days of hearings by the Council’s Finance and Operational Performance Committee. Councillor Neeson opposed the motion and Councillors Stone, Flaunty and Dallow could not vote because they did not attend all the Hearings.

Councillor numbers will remain the same at fourteen along with the Mayor. Massey will have three Councillors, Waitakere one Councillor and Henderson and New Lynn both five Councillors. The numbers of Councillors must comply with a formula of population to elected members so that no ward has a greater or lesser differential than 10% to comply with the legislation.

The four ward option chosen will see Henderson Ward extend its boundaries, taking in the Lincoln Road business area as well as the suburbs of Bruce McLaren and Western Heights.

New Lynn Ward will retain Titirangi and add the suburb of Laingholm, which is currently in Waitakere Ward.

Community Boards will cover Henderson, New Lynn and Massey Wards with each of those having five Elected Members and two appointed Councillors, and Waitakere will have six Elected Members and one Councillor. This makes a total of 21 Members compared with 22 at present.

The Council informally consulted on three representation options before deciding on a three ward system – the Initial Proposal - for formal consultation. Each of the three wards was comprised of a mix of urban and rural areas with integrated land use, transportation and landscapes also taken into consideration.

The Final Proposal will now be advertised and the community will have a further opportunity to object. The Final Proposal, together with all supporting material including submissions and objections, will go to the Local Government Commission for consideration. As the proposal has been modified anyone may object, not just those who submitted to the Council on the Initial Proposal.

The Council is required to undertake a review of its electoral boundaries and system every six years, in accordance with the Local Electoral Act 2001. The current review was always going to result in some change because Waitakere Ward’s population was not adequate to elect three councillors.

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