Notice of Representation Arrangements Review - Final Proposal

Submissions

On 12 September 2024, the Clutha District Council considered the submissions received on its initial proposal regarding the representation arrangements for the Council to apply for at least the 2025 triennial local authority elections.

The Council received 26 submissions to its initial proposal. 12 submissions were in support of the initial proposal and 11 were opposed, with three submitters leaving the question blank. Those opposed provided the following reasons:

• the number of councillors in the Bruce-Waihola Ward should be greater than what is proposed
• the number of councillors in the West Otago Ward should retained at two
• additional community boards should be established
• the Bruce-Waihola and Milton Wards should be combined the community board boundaries should be aligned with ward boundaries

Final proposal

Having considered all of the submissions, the Council, on 23 October 2024, resolved to adopt its initial proposal as its final proposal. The Council rejected the matters raised in those submissions opposed to the final proposal for the following reasons:

• the suggestion to increase the number of councillors in one or more wards from what is proposed was rejected as it could create significant non-compliance with the fair representation criteria
• the suggestion to establish additional community boards across the district or to establish one in Milton/Bruce was rejected as it did not have significant support across submissions
• the suggestion to combine the Bruce-Waihola and Milton Wards was rejected as it did not have significant support across submissions
• the suggestion to align community board boundaries with the proposed ward boundaries was rejected as the existing community board boundaries are considered appropriate for the respective communities.

Therefore the final proposal is as follows:

Council representation

The Clutha District Council to comprise the mayor elected ‘at large’ and nine councillors elected from eight wards, these being:

• Balclutha Ward (two councillors), comprising the urban area of Balclutha township, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Bruce-Waihola Ward (one councillor), comprising rural areas north of Milton township, including Taieri Mouth, Waihola, and Milburn, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Catlins Ward (one councillor), comprising the area from the southern Koau branch of the Clutha River Mata-Au, and including the rural areas of Paretai, Otanomomo and Romahapa, through to the southern coastline to the Otago and Southland regional border, and the Awatea and Slopedown areas, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Clinton-Clydevale Ward (one councillor), comprising the inland rural area around Clinton (noting the addition to the existing Clinton Ward of Te Houka, Clifton, Clydevale and Rongahere, along with the Waipahi area along the northern boundary, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Kaitangata-Matau Ward (one councillor), comprising the urban areas of Kaitangata, and including the urban and rural areas of Stirling, Benhar, Lovells Flat, Moneymore, Toko Mouth (from Koau Branch of the Clutha River on Inch Clutha), the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Lawrence-Tuapeka Ward (one councillor), comprising the urban area of Lawrence, and rural areas to include the south and southwest areas of Pukeawa, Hillend, Awamangu, Adams Flat and Crichton, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• Milton Ward (one councillor), comprising the urban area of Milton township, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1
• West Otago Ward (one councillor), comprising the key areas around West Otago, including Tapanui and Heriot (noting some areas have been moved south into the Clinton-Clydevale Ward), the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 1

The eight wards, the population per ward, the number of councillors per ward and the population per councillor is as follows:

In accordance with section 19V(2) of the Local Electoral Act 2001, the population that each councillor represents must be within the range of 2,098 plus or minus 10% (1,888-2,308). All of the proposed wards comply with this range.

The reason the total number of councillors is proposed to be reduced from 14 to nine is to ensure effective representation of communities of interest in both rural and urban areas.

The reason for the boundary changes is to accommodate the reduction in the number of elected members and to ensure fair representation is provided.

Community board representation

It is proposed that two community boards will be elected. The two community boards will be:

• Lawrence-Tuapeka Community Board (six members elected from the community at large, plus one councillor representing the Lawrence-Tuapeka Ward as appointed by Council), comprising the existing Lawrence-Tuapeka ward area as delineated on Plan LG072-2019-W-2 deposited with the Local Government Commission, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 2
• West Otago Community Board (six members elected from the community at large, plus one councillor representing the West Otago Ward as appointed by Council) comprising the existing West Otago ward area as delineated on Plan LG-0722013-W-1 deposited with the Local Government Commission, the boundaries of which are shown on Appendix 2

Appeals

Any person who made a submission on Council’s initial proposal may lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision. An appeal must relate to the matters raised in that person’s submission.

Copies of the Representation Review – Final Proposal and the appeal form are available on Council’s website www.connect.cluthadc.govt.nz/representation-review-2024

Appeals should be addressed to: Clutha District Council, PO Box 25, Balclutha 9240

Appeals can also be emailed to: help.desk@cluthadc.govt.nz

Appeals should state your name, address, telephone number and email address (if you have one) and should reach the Council no later than 5.00pm on Thursday 28 November 2024.

Steve Hill, Chief Executive
Clutha District Council