Hamilton City Council’s proposed representation structure has been endorsed by the Local Government Commission.

Council received five appeals against its initial proposal, two of which were progressed by the Commission.

The Council table will be made up of twelve General Ward councillors (six in the East Ward, and six in the West), two citywide Kirikiriroa Maaori Ward councillors, and the mayor.

Unenrolled Maaori voters’ decision to choose the General roll or Maaori roll will now determine who they can vote for in local government elections. Kei a koe te tikanga. It’s your choice. More information about what this means can be found here.

Voting opens in September, but Council is urging Hamiltonians to check their enrolment, or to enrol for the first time.

“If you’ve moved house, or just turned 18, take five minutes for your future and check your enrolment online” said Michelle Hawthorne, Governance and Assurance Manager. “Local elections are important – the people we elect will not only lead Hamilton through the next three years, they’ll make important decisions for the future too.”

Hamilton will also debut a new voting system in the 2022 local elections. This year, voters will rank candidates numerically (1,2,3…) under the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system.

The Local Government Commission heard two appeals against Council’s decision on representation arrangements, at a hearing on 8 March.

The Commission upheld Council’s proposal and approved the representation arrangement for the 2022 local election.

The new representation arrangements will be introduced for the local government elections in October this year.

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