Auckland City Council
Media release
11 December 2009
Voters’ rights compromised under proposed new ward boundaries
Auckland City Council has approved the council’s submission on the boundaries and representation arrangements for the
new Auckland Council proposed by the Local Government Commission.
Auckland City Council recognises the difficult job the Commission has had in drawing the boundaries for the wards and
local boards, and has provided options to address the imbalance in representation across the region.
Councillor David Hay, chairperson of the Regional Governance Committee, says: “The most significant issue for Auckland
City Council is the under-representation in three of the four isthmus wards.
Based on the current proposals, all votes are not treated equally in the super city structure. If you live in
Waitakere, your vote will be worth two thirds of a vote from someone who lives in Rodney. For the people of Manukau, a
vote will be worth three quarters of a vote from Rodney. This under representation is even worse for those who live
within Auckland City.”
The Commission has cited expected growth as justification for the over-representation in the Hibiscus-Albany-East Coast
Bays and Howick-Pakuranga-Botany wards. Population forecasts from statistics New Zealand suggest that the isthmus part
of the Maungawhau ward will grow faster than anywhere else in the region. This growth will exacerbate the proposed under
representation for central Auckland.
In Auckland City Council’s submission, council recommends that the boundaries for the four isthmus wards be amended to
ensure the four isthmus wards and Waitakere fall within the 10 percent margin for fair representation, while not
disrupting the underlying communities of interest. Key features of the recommendation are
Otahuhu is moved to the Manukau ward
Kelston is moved to the Waitakere ward
Those parts of Mt Eden, Eden Terrace, Eden Valley, Kingsland and Epsom that are in the Maungawhau-Hauraki ward are moved
to the Mt Albert/Mt Roskill ward
The boundaries between the three south Auckland wards (excluding Franklin) are amended to ensure all are fairly
represented
Parts of the Massey subdivisions are moved to the Hibiscus-Albany-East Coast Bays ward
Auckland City Council also calls for the local board electoral subdivisions to be dropped. Electoral subdivisions do not
aid effective decision-making and could prove to be divisive, especially in boards where an uneven split of members is
proposed.
Additional resources
- Auckland City Council Submission to the Local Government Commission
<<091211 Auckland City Council's submission to the Local Government Commission .pdf>> <<091211 map to accompany Auckland City Council's submission to Local Government Commission.pdf>>
Ends