Representation review 2024 - Final proposal

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On Thursday 31 October 2024, Council resolved their final proposal for the Council structure for the 2025 local elections.

In line with the Local Electoral Act (2001) the population each general ward councillor represents must be within a +/-10% range of 7,651 (so between 6,886 and 8,416). Legislation calls this fair and effective representation of communities of interest and is dependent on the number of general ward councillors and the overall population size of the district. All wards are within this range.

Appeal and objection process

An appeal and objection process ran until 5pm, Friday 6 December 2024.

  • An appeal could be made by a person or organisation who submitted on the initial proposal about matters related to their original submission.
  • An objection could be lodged by any person or organisation on issues where the final proposal differs from the initial proposal. The objection needed to identify the matters to which the objection relates to.
  • The principle of a Maōri ward could not be appealed.

Two objections and one appeal have been received on Council’s final representation proposal. These have been forwarded to the Local Government Commission which must make its determination by 10 April 2025. The Commission will be in contact with objectors and appellants in due course and advise next steps.

Background

The final proposal decison follows preliminary engagement and formal consultation on an initial proposal the community was invited to submit feedback on between 8 August and 12 September 2024.

The initial proposal (proposed Council structure) included:

  • one mayor
  • four general wards represented by seven elected councillors
  • two districtwide councillors
  • one Māori ward councillor
  • five community boards with four elected members each and a specified number of ward councillors appointed to the boards.

In total this equated to 10 councillors, one mayor and 20 community board members, with one districtwide seat replaced at the Council table by the new Māori ward seat.

Boundary changes were also proposed for:

  • the Ōtaki and Waikanae ward and community board boundaries at Te Horo moving further south past Te Hapua Road
  • the Paekākāriki-Raumati and Paraparaumu ward boundaries at Emerald Glen and Valley Road moving further east to incorporate these communities into the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward.
  • Paekākāriki and Paraparaumu community board boundaries to match the above proposed boundary changes for Emerald Glen and Valley Road.

Council received 442 written and nine oral submissions on its initial proposal. The submissions were analysed and summarised in a report considered by Council on 31 October 2024.

Final Proposal

Having considered all submissions, on 31 October 2024, Council resolved that the proposal be adopted, subject to the following three amendments:

  • The proposed name of the Māori ward be amended to Kapiti Coast Māori Ward - removing the macron on Kapiti.
  • The proposed boundary between the Waikanae and Ōtaki Wards and Community Boards remains in its current place (down Te Horo Beach Road and School Road) and not moved south past Te Hapua Road.
  • The membership of the Paraparaumu Community Board includes one ward councillor appointed back from either the Paraparaumu General Ward or the Kapiti Coast Māori Ward rather than the current two councillors appointed back.

Council considers the amendments appropriate for the following reasons:

  • Mana whenua support the name of the Māori ward if the proposed macron on Kapiti is removed. Council considers it appropriate for mana whenua to gift a name to the ward.
  • Analysis of submissions received from residents in Te Horo directly affected by the proposed boundary changes highlighted the majority preferred to retain the status quo rather than move the boundary south to Te Hapua Road.
  • Councillors discussed the discrepancy between councillor appointments on community boards and considered that making the appointments more equitable and consistent by only appointing once councillor to each community board is appropriate. This removes the discrepancy between community boards and sees only one councillor of either the Paraparaumu General Ward or Kapiti Coast Māori Ward appointed to the Paraparaumu Community Board instead of two.

Council rejected submissions that disagreed with the Council structure of two at-large (districtwide), seven general ward, and one Māori ward councillor because the majority disagreed with the proposed structure because of the Māori ward establishment.

Council affirmed its decision to establish a Māori ward on 6 August 2024 and at this time can no longer disestablish the ward. The Māori ward will be in place for the 2025 local body elections and Council will hold a poll to determine the future of the ward at the elections in line with the provisions of the amended Local Electoral Act 2001.

Further Information

Copies of the full proposal, including Council’s resolution, consultation document and maps setting out the areas of the wards may be viewed and obtained on our Council meetings webpage or by asking a member of our library or service centre teams:

  • Civic Administration Building, 175 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu
  • Paraparaumu Library, Iver Trask Place, Paraparaumu
  • Waikanae Library and Waikanae Service Centre, Mahara Place, Waikanae
  • Ōtaki Library and Service Centre, Main Street, Ōtaki
  • Paekākāriki Library, 14 Wellington Road, Paekākāriki (Mondays and Wednesdays 1:30pm to 4:30pm, and Saturdays 10:00am to 2:00pm)

Any queries regarding the Council’s proposal should be directed to governance@kapiticoast.govt.nz.

On Thursday 31 October 2024, Council resolved their final proposal for the Council structure for the 2025 local elections.

In line with the Local Electoral Act (2001) the population each general ward councillor represents must be within a +/-10% range of 7,651 (so between 6,886 and 8,416). Legislation calls this fair and effective representation of communities of interest and is dependent on the number of general ward councillors and the overall population size of the district. All wards are within this range.

Appeal and objection process

An appeal and objection process ran until 5pm, Friday 6 December 2024.

  • An appeal could be made by a person or organisation who submitted on the initial proposal about matters related to their original submission.
  • An objection could be lodged by any person or organisation on issues where the final proposal differs from the initial proposal. The objection needed to identify the matters to which the objection relates to.
  • The principle of a Maōri ward could not be appealed.

Two objections and one appeal have been received on Council’s final representation proposal. These have been forwarded to the Local Government Commission which must make its determination by 10 April 2025. The Commission will be in contact with objectors and appellants in due course and advise next steps.

Background

The final proposal decison follows preliminary engagement and formal consultation on an initial proposal the community was invited to submit feedback on between 8 August and 12 September 2024.

The initial proposal (proposed Council structure) included:

  • one mayor
  • four general wards represented by seven elected councillors
  • two districtwide councillors
  • one Māori ward councillor
  • five community boards with four elected members each and a specified number of ward councillors appointed to the boards.

In total this equated to 10 councillors, one mayor and 20 community board members, with one districtwide seat replaced at the Council table by the new Māori ward seat.

Boundary changes were also proposed for:

  • the Ōtaki and Waikanae ward and community board boundaries at Te Horo moving further south past Te Hapua Road
  • the Paekākāriki-Raumati and Paraparaumu ward boundaries at Emerald Glen and Valley Road moving further east to incorporate these communities into the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward.
  • Paekākāriki and Paraparaumu community board boundaries to match the above proposed boundary changes for Emerald Glen and Valley Road.

Council received 442 written and nine oral submissions on its initial proposal. The submissions were analysed and summarised in a report considered by Council on 31 October 2024.

Final Proposal

Having considered all submissions, on 31 October 2024, Council resolved that the proposal be adopted, subject to the following three amendments:

  • The proposed name of the Māori ward be amended to Kapiti Coast Māori Ward - removing the macron on Kapiti.
  • The proposed boundary between the Waikanae and Ōtaki Wards and Community Boards remains in its current place (down Te Horo Beach Road and School Road) and not moved south past Te Hapua Road.
  • The membership of the Paraparaumu Community Board includes one ward councillor appointed back from either the Paraparaumu General Ward or the Kapiti Coast Māori Ward rather than the current two councillors appointed back.

Council considers the amendments appropriate for the following reasons:

  • Mana whenua support the name of the Māori ward if the proposed macron on Kapiti is removed. Council considers it appropriate for mana whenua to gift a name to the ward.
  • Analysis of submissions received from residents in Te Horo directly affected by the proposed boundary changes highlighted the majority preferred to retain the status quo rather than move the boundary south to Te Hapua Road.
  • Councillors discussed the discrepancy between councillor appointments on community boards and considered that making the appointments more equitable and consistent by only appointing once councillor to each community board is appropriate. This removes the discrepancy between community boards and sees only one councillor of either the Paraparaumu General Ward or Kapiti Coast Māori Ward appointed to the Paraparaumu Community Board instead of two.

Council rejected submissions that disagreed with the Council structure of two at-large (districtwide), seven general ward, and one Māori ward councillor because the majority disagreed with the proposed structure because of the Māori ward establishment.

Council affirmed its decision to establish a Māori ward on 6 August 2024 and at this time can no longer disestablish the ward. The Māori ward will be in place for the 2025 local body elections and Council will hold a poll to determine the future of the ward at the elections in line with the provisions of the amended Local Electoral Act 2001.

Further Information

Copies of the full proposal, including Council’s resolution, consultation document and maps setting out the areas of the wards may be viewed and obtained on our Council meetings webpage or by asking a member of our library or service centre teams:

  • Civic Administration Building, 175 Rimu Road, Paraparaumu
  • Paraparaumu Library, Iver Trask Place, Paraparaumu
  • Waikanae Library and Waikanae Service Centre, Mahara Place, Waikanae
  • Ōtaki Library and Service Centre, Main Street, Ōtaki
  • Paekākāriki Library, 14 Wellington Road, Paekākāriki (Mondays and Wednesdays 1:30pm to 4:30pm, and Saturdays 10:00am to 2:00pm)

Any queries regarding the Council’s proposal should be directed to governance@kapiticoast.govt.nz.

  • How we got here

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    What happens next?

    Thanks to everyone who submitted their feedback. View submissions.

    We've contacted those wishing to speak to their submission at our hearings on Tuesday 24 September 2024.

    Council will review the submissions at a briefing on Tuesday 8 October, and will deliberate their final representation proposal options for the 2025 local government elections on Thursday 31 October 2024.

    If an appeal or objection to the final proposal is received or if the adopted structure does not meet the fair representation requirements (+/- 10% rule), the binding determination on the district’s representation arrangement will be referred to the Local Government Commission (LGC) for consideration. The principle of a Māori ward cannot be appealed. A decision by the LGC will be given no later than 10 April 2025.


    Representation Review webinar recording 29 August 2024

    Background

    Council completed a comprehensive review of its representation arrangements in 2021 and was not due for another review until 2027. However, following the decision to establish a Māori ward in November last year, Council needed to do another representation review this year to ensure the Māori ward is in place for the 2025 local government elections.

    We began our process with early engagement between 4 March and 2 April 2024 to ask the community their thoughts on how they’d like to be represented. This included seeking feedback on how many councillors we should have, whether they’re elected from general wards, districtwide (elected by all voters of the district), or a combination of both, whether the district has community boards, and how the new Māori ward could fit into the arrangements.

    We received 285 submissions, with the majority indicating the current arrangements work well and support for including the new Māori ward with minimal changes to the current Council structure. The majority also supported retaining the current councillor to community board appointment structure.

    Legislation changes

    On 4 April 2024, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Constituencies) Amendment Bill, which was confirmed as legislation on 30 July 2024. The Bill reinstates a requirement for councils to hold polls at the 2025 local government elections for any Māori wards established without a poll. It also requires councils to re-affirm or reverse (rescind) their decision to establish Māori wards.

    At an extraordinary Council meeting on 6 August 2024, Council re-affirmed their decision to establish a Māori ward. This means continuing with this representation review to determine our arrangements, including establishing the new Māori ward, for the 2025 local government elections. During the 2025 elections we will hold a poll to determine the future of the Māori ward for the 2028 and 2031 elections.

    Initial proposal

    Following our early engagement feedback, Council believes the current structure should be largely retained and propose the following representation arrangements for the 2025 local government elections:

    • one mayor
    • four general wards represented by seven elected councillors
    • two districtwide councillors
    • one Māori ward councillor
    • five community boards with four elected members each and a specified number of ward councillors appointed to the boards.

    In total this equates to 10 councillors, one mayor and 20 community board members, with one districtwide seat replaced at the Council table by the new Māori ward seat.

    View our current Council structure
    View our proposed Council structure

    Proposed boundary changes

    We’re also proposing to change the Ōtaki and Waikanae ward and community board boundaries at Te Horo, moving it further south past Te Hapua Road, and the Paekākāriki–Raumati and Paraparaumu ward boundaries at Emerald Glen and Valley Road, which will also change the Paekākāriki and Paraparaumu community board boundaries.

    We believe these boundary changes will better reflect the communities of interest –where people live and associate with. These proposed boundary changes are in line with community feedback following the Local Government Commission’s decisions during our last representation review process and feedback received from members of these communities since the last elections in 2022.

    We acknowledge our proposed changes to Ōtaki and Waikanae ward boundaries don’t meet the fair representation criteria (the +/- 10 percent rule). Council can make this change, however, our final proposal will need to be referred to the Local Government Commission to consider the district’s final representation arrangements

    View proposed Waikanae and Ōtaki general ward and community board boundaries View proposed Paekākāriki–Raumati and Paraparaumu ward boundaries

    Community boards

    We’re not proposing any changes to our community board arrangements, apart from the proposed boundary alterations. We propose to leave the current councillor to community board appointment structure in place and for the new Council to decide which ward councillors (either the new Māori ward councillor and/or the general ward councillor(s)) should be appointed to community boards.


    How you could have your say

    Consultation was open from 8 August - Thursday, 12 September 2024, at 5pm.

    People could provide feedback by:

    • Completing our online survey
    • Attending one of our in-person information sessions (see below)
    • Picking up and completing the survey at one of our libraries or service centres.
    • Emailing feedback to HaveYourSay@kapiticoast.govt.nz.
    • Posting feedback forms to us:
      Kāpiti Coast District Council
      175 Rimu Road
      Private Bag 60601
      Paraparaumu5254

    People could request to speak to their submission at our hearings on Tuesday 24 September 2024.

    Information sessions

    We held an online webinar and in-person drop-in session for peole who wanted to chat to an elected member about our proposed Council structure:

    • Online Webinar: Thursday 29 August, 6pm
    • Drop-in session: Saturday 31 August, 10am–12 noon, Paraparaumu Library
Page last updated: 13 Dec 2024, 11:35 AM