Council has extended its consultation period by one week to give the community more time to have their say on the representation review initial proposal.

The community now has until Friday 24 September to make their submissions on what General and Māori Wards will look like for the 2022 and 2025 elections.

“We understand the lockdown has interrupted plans for many people.” says Council Chief Executive Nedine Thatcher Swann.

“We looked at every possible option to rearrange our process. I am pleased to advise that we can extend the deadline by one week to ensure we give every opportunity for our people to tell us what they think of our proposal,” says Ms Thatcher Swann.

“We’re also reminding the community that Māori Wards were approved last year. What we want to know through the representation review is how they’re implemented, what they’re called and if the community is happy with the representation proposal.”

Hardcopies have been posted out to every household. However online submissions are preferrable as they require less manual handling, are usually much quicker to fill out and promptly received.

A public Facebook zoom meeting was held on Monday and two more are scheduled for Monday 13 and 20 September. This is an opportunity for the community to ask questions with in-house experts online.

Council encourages people to ask questions through a dedicated email address, which will be responded to within 24 hours – feedback@govt.nz

Anyone who wants to speak in support of their submission, the hearing will be held on Wednesday October 6.

Posted submissions must be in the mail as early as possible to arrive by the cut-off date of Friday 24 September. For more information, or to make a submission online, please visit the Council website www.gdc.govt.nz.

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