With significant growth in Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes, the Otago Regional Council is proposing to reduce the
number of Dunedin councillors by one and add one to the Dunstan constituency.
At today’s meeting council resolved that the following proposal apply for the council for the elections to be held on 11
October 2025 and in 2028 (or another representation review be undertaken).
The proposal
It is proposed that the Council comprise 12 members elected from four constituencies. The four constituencies reflect
the following identified communities of interest:ConstituencyCommunities of interestMoeraki ConstituencyComprising the Otago portion of the Waitaki District territorial area, being part of the Ahuriri and Corriedale wards,
and the entirety of the Oamaru ward and Waihemo wardDunedin ConstituencyComprising the comprising central Dunedin and the Waikouaiti Coast, West Harbour, Otago Peninsula and Saddle Hill
community board areas located within the Dunedin City territorial area.Dunstan ConstituencyComprising the Central Otago District and Queenstown Lakes District territorial areasMolyneux ConstituencyComprising the Clutha District territorial area and Mosgiel-Taieri and Strath-Taieri community board areas located
within the Dunedin City territorial area
The population that each member will represent is as follows:ConstituencyPopulationMembersPopulation per memberMoeraki Constituency22,300122,300Dunedin Constituency115,200523,040Dunstan Constituency78,800419,700Molyneux Constituency38,300219,150Total254,6001221,217
In accordance with section 19V(2), Local Electoral Act 2001 the population that each member represents must be within
the range of 21,217 +/- 10% (19,096 – 23,338), unless particular community of interest considerations justify otherwise. All of the proposed
constituencies fall within the stipulated range.
Submissions are invited
The public are invited to make written submissions on the Council’s representation proposal and any other suggestions
they may have about councillor numbers or ward boundaries.
Submissions open 10 July and close 11 August and can be made either online at www.orc.govt.nz/RepReview24 or by mail to:
Attention – Amanda Vercoe
Otago Regional Council Dunedin office: 144 Rattray Street, Level 2, Philip Laing House, Dunedin
or Otago Regional Council Queenstown office: 1092 Frankton Road, Alta House Level 1/Terrace Junction, Frankton,
Queenstown.
What is a representation review?
Every six years councils must review how communities are represented in the make-up of their council. A representation
review looks at the structures in place, including:the number of constituencies (electoral areas) and their boundariesthe number of elected members (councillors) representing each constituency
The representation review cannot change the people who are currently elected but it may increase the number of
councillors - 14 is the maximum number of councillors a regional council can have.
The last representation review for Otago Regional Council was completed in 2018. No changes were made to the existing
constituencies or number of councillors.
Representation reviews require Council to look at three key concepts:Communities of interest: to identify what communities of interest exist across the district, which is relevant to
determining the number and boundaries of constituencies.Effective representation of communities of interest: to identify what’s the best structure to maintain access and
representation that recognises these communities of interest, which is relevant to determining the number of membersFair representation of electors: to ensure that each councillor should represent roughly the same number of people,
which is relevant for ensuring equality of representation per member.
Current arrangement
The Otago Regional Council is made up of 12 Councillors, elected from four constituencies:Dunstan 3Moeraki 1Molyneux 2Dunedin 6