Council Seeking Feedback on Local Representation

The number of councillors needed to represent South Taranaki is just one of several questions the Council is asking residents feedback on as part of a district Representation Review.

South Taranaki District Council’s (STDC) corporate services group manager Marianne Archibald, says the review, which is in its early stages, will determine how the district’s residents are represented at Council.

“A representation review looks at various things such as; how many councillors there should be for our District, whether councillors are elected from wards or ‘at large’ (across the whole District), or a mix of both, where our ward boundaries should be, how our new Māori ward/s will look and whether we should keep our community boards,” says Marianne.

“The review follows a very prescriptive process which offers several opportunities for the public to be involved before a final proposal is sent to the Local Government Commission for approval.

“In this initial round of consultation, as a starting point we are asking our residents what they think about three options for our general wards and two for our Māori ward/s, however there are many other possibilities that could be considered. Based on the feedback we receive the Council will identify a preferred option (called an initial proposal) which we will formally consult on in late July,” says Marianne.

“Residents can give their feedback through the Council’s website or by calling into any one of our seven LibraryPlus centres across the district or our Administration Building in Hāwera by 5pm Friday 9 July.”

Key Dates

An initial proposal will be developed based on everyone's feedback from the pre-consultation round.

• 8 June to 9 July 2021 - Informal (pre) consultation on 3 general and 2 Māori ward options
• 26 July 2021 - Council – decides on initial proposal
• 28 July 2021 - Public Notice
• 28 July to 8 September 2021 - Formal consultation on an initial proposal (1 option only)
• 20 September 2021 - Hearing
• 27 September 2021 - Council – considers all submissions and makes a final proposal
• 29 September 2021 - Public Notice on final proposal
• 29 Sept to 11 November 2021 - Objection period
• 15 November 2021 - Final proposal goes to Local Government Commission