|
Waitematā Local Board
27 August 2024
|
|
Feedback on
the representation review initial proposal
File No.: CP2024/11790
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To
seek formal feedback from local boards on the initial representation review
proposal.
· Provide
local boards with key feedback themes from public consultation on the
representation review initial proposal.
· Seek
formal feedback from local boards on the representation review initial proposal
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. This
report enables local boards to make a formal response to the initial proposal
and feedback received via business meeting resolutions.
3. The
Governing Body resolved the representation review initial proposal on 27 June
2024 for public notification and consultation outlined in the body of this
report and provided in Attachment A.
4. Feedback
on Auckland Council’s representation review initial proposal for the 2025
elections was received between 8 July and 8 August 2024.
5. Due
to the proximity of the closing date for public feedback (8 August) and local
board business meeting dates, this report provides the high-level summary of
key themes. The feedback analysis report produced by the Insights team will be
provided separately prior to the Waitematā Local Board business meeting.
6. At
the time of writing this report, approximately 1050 submissions have been
received, however the final submission numbers will be confirmed at a
later date and communicated via the feedback analysis report.
7. Key
themes included general support for the proposed changes in the central
Auckland wards, North Shore wards, the Howick Local Board subdivision
arrangements, and the minor local board boundary changes. Submissions on the
proposed changes to the Rodney Local Board subdivisions raised a number of
issues to be addressed in the final proposal.
8. The
initial proposal includes a realignment of the Central Auckland ward boundaries
of Waitematā and Gulf, Ōrākei, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, and
Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa wards with local board boundaries. At a high level,
feedback is generally in support of the proposed changes. Those in support
generally feel the proposal will improve representation and those opposed
generally feel the proposal will divide communities.
9. The
Joint Governance Working Party (JGWP) will now hear this feedback through a
hearings process, which will close with deliberations on whether to recommend
any changes to the initial proposal to the Governing Body. The Governing Body
will then decide the final proposal on 26 September 2024.
10. Any local
board chairs who are members of the JGWP are requested to step aside from the
development of their board’s formal feedback to enable them to fully
participate in the work of the hearings panel.
11. If the local
board wishes to provide feedback that the initial proposal should be amended,
it is important to include sufficient reasoning for the JGWP to recommend an
amendment. The reasoning should be in line with the requirement to consider the
effective representation of communities of interest and fair representation
(the 10 percent rule).
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Waitematā Local
Board:
a) note the summary of feedback received on the representation review
initial proposal.
b) note
that the Joint Governance Working Party (JGWP) will hear submissions on the
proposal including local board feedback, for a decision by the Governing Body
on 26 September 2024.
c) provide
its formal feedback on the proposal.
d) advise
the JGWP that it wishes to speak to its feedback at the hearing.
Horopaki
Context
Process
12. The Local
Electoral Act 2001 (LEA) requires councils to follow a prescribed process
within certain timeframes when undertaking a review of the representation
arrangements. The proposed process and dates are provided below.
|
1.
Action
|
2.
Required timeframe
|
3.
Planned timeframe
|
|
4.
Resolution of initial
proposal
|
5.
By 31 July 2024
|
6.
27 June 2024
|
|
7.
Public notice of initial
proposal
|
8.
Within 14 days of resolving initial
proposal
|
9.
8 July 2024
|
|
10. Public consultation
|
11. Period of no less than 1 month
|
12. 8 July – 8 August 2024
|
|
13. Hearings
|
14. -
|
15. 2 – 13 September 2024
|
|
16. Resolve final proposal
|
17. -
|
18. 26 September 2024
|
|
19. Public notice of final proposal
|
20. Within eight weeks of close of submissions
|
21. 3 October 2024
|
|
22. Receive objections or appeals to final proposal
|
23. Period of no less than 1 month
|
24. 3 October – 3 November 2024
|
|
25. Forward objections or appeals to the LGC for final
determination
|
26. As soon as practicable but no later than 1 December
2024
|
27. 4 November 2024
|
|
28. Final determination on proposal from the LGC
|
29. No later than 11 April 2025
|
30. -
|
31.
13. The Governing
Body confirmed the scope of the initial proposal for the 2025 representation
review at its 30 May meeting before
finalising and confirming the content of the associated public consultation
material at its 27 June meeting. The proposal was publicly notified for
feedback from 8 July to 8 August.
14. This report
provides a summary of the key themes from feedback (including local board
feedback, if made) and enables local boards to make a formal response to the
initial proposal and other feedback via business meeting resolutions.
15. The Local
Electoral Act 2001 requires the council to ensure that any person who makes a
submission on the initial proposal is given a reasonable opportunity to be
heard by the council.
16. The JGWP has
been appointed as the panel to hear those that wish to speak to their written
submissions over four days in September, including the 6 September to hear
local board feedback and 13 September to deliberate and make recommendations to
the Governing Body.
17. The JGWP
recommendations will be reported to the 26 September Governing Body meeting,
which will make a final decision on the proposal. If any objections or appeals
are received, they will be assessed by the Local Government Commission.
18. A range of
engagement events were held during the consultation period, some with a
regional focus and some with a focus on local changes being proposed. These
events were promoted through local communications, social media, and through
the AK Have Your Say website. A full record of all events held during the
consultation period is available on akhaveyoursay.nz/represent under ‘drop-in sessions’ and
‘webinars’. The webinar recordings are also available on the
webpage.
19. All
information relevant to the representation review has been made available
through the AK Have Your Say website. In addition to providing access to the
initial proposal and consultation documents, the website provided an
interactive map with the ability to zoom in to inspect boundary locations. It
also provided the events above and all the reports to the Governing Body and
local boards, setting out the issues and options.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
Representation review initial proposal
20. The Governing
Body resolved the representation review initial proposal on 27 June 2024 for
public notification and consultation outlined below and provided in Attachment
A.
a) Ward
boundary / representation changes
i) changes
to the Central Auckland ward boundaries (Waitematā and Gulf,
Ōrākei, Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, and Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa
wards) so they match the proposed local board boundary changes while still
following the fairness of representation rule, as shown in maps 1.2, 1.3 and
1.4.
ii) enlarge
the North Shore Ward to include an area around Bayview, reducing noncompliance
with the fairness of representation rule. These changes align the North Shore
and Albany ward boundary with boundary changes to Upper Harbour and
Kaipātiki local boards, as shown in map 1.5.
iii) Noncompliance
of the North Shore Ward, with a -13.82 per cent variance, as compliance would
split a community of interest.
b) Local
board boundary / representation changes
i) the
Rodney Local Board subdivisions will be, as shown in maps 2.1 and 2.2:
A) North
Rural, 2 members
B) South
Rural, 2 members
C) Warkworth,
2 members
D) Kumeū,
2 members
E) Dairy
Flat, 1 member
ii) the
total number of members on the Howick Local Board will increase from 9 to 11
members. The subdivisions will be, as shown in map 3:
A) Howick,
3 members (no change)
B) Pakuranga,
3 members (no change)
C) Botany,
2 members (changed area)
D) Flat
Bush, 3 members (new subdivision)
iii) minor
changes to local board boundaries:
A) the
boundary between the Upper Harbour and Devonport-Takapuna local boards will be
changed so that all of Saunders Reserve is in the Upper Harbour Local Board
area (Map 4.1)
B) the
boundary between Kaipātiki and Upper Harbour local boards will run along
Sunset Road (Map 4.1)
C) the
boundary between Kaipātiki and Upper Harbour local boards in the vicinity
of Kereru Reserve will be adjusted such that the parcel of land, Lot 3 DP
142477 (R 14 Kereru Grove), becomes part of the Upper Harbour Local Board area
(Map 4.1).
D) the
boundary between Kaipātiki and Upper Harbour local boards will be adjusted
to include the residential area of Bayview that is north of Glendhu Road in the
Kaipātiki Local Board area, noting that meshblocks will need to be
adjusted to avoid affecting any reserve area in the Upper Harbour Local Board
area (Map 4.1).
E) the
boundary between the Puketāpapa and Maungakiekie-Tāmaki local boards
will be adjusted such that all Taumanu Reserve lies within the
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board area (Map 4.2)
iv) noncompliance
with the 10 per cent rule for the following local boards for the reasons given
in Attachment A:
A) Hibiscus
and Bays
B) Maungakiekie-Tāmaki
C) Ōtara-Papatoetoe
D) Franklin
Feedback on the representation review initial proposal
21. Feedback on
Auckland Council’s representation review initial proposal for the 2025
elections was received between 8 July and 8 August 2024.
22. The
consultation document, feedback questions and maps are provided in Attachment A
to this report.
23. Due to the
proximity of the closing date for public feedback (8 August) and local board
business meeting dates, this report provides the high-level summary of key
themes. The feedback analysis report produced by the Insights team will be
provided separately prior to the Waitematā Local Board business meeting.
High level summary of feedback
24. At the time
of writing this report, approximately 1050 submissions have been received
however the final submission numbers will be confirmed at a later date and
communicated via the feedback analysis report.
25. Key themes
included general support for the proposed changes in the central Auckland
wards, North Shore wards, the Howick Local Board subdivision arrangements, and
the minor local board boundary changes. Submissions on the proposed changes to
the Rodney Local Board subdivisions raised a number of issues to be addressed
in the final proposal. Table A summarises key feedback themes.
32.
33.
34.
Table A – proposed changes and summary of feedback
|
Change type
|
Change detail
|
Feedback
|
|
Ward boundaries
|
Central Auckland ward
boundaries (Waitematā and Gulf, Ōrākei,
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, and Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa wards)
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed boundary changes.
Those in support generally
feel the proposal will improve representation and those opposed generally
feel the proposal will divide communities.
|
|
North Shore ward
boundaries (North Shore and Albany wards)
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed boundary changes.
Generally, those in
support feel it is a logical proposal and those who do not support disagree
with the need for any change.
|
|
Ward noncompliance
|
North Shore ward
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed noncompliance.
|
|
Local board
subdivisions
|
Rodney Local Board. Four
subdivisions to five. New ‘North’ and ‘South’ rural
subdivisions.
|
Feedback is mixed on the
proposed subdivision changes, with the majority in support and the remainder
split fairly evenly between ‘do not support’ and ‘I
don’t know’.
Generally, those in
support agree with rural representation and those who do not support disagree
with the proposal subdivision boundaries.
|
|
Howick Local Board. Three
subdivisions to four. Additional subdivision for Flat Bush area.
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed subdivision changes.
Generally, those in
support agree with creation of Flat Bush subdivision and those who do not
support disagree with the need for any change.
|
|
Local board members
|
Howick Local Board.
Additional two members for the proposed Flat Bush subdivision.
|
Feedback included a small
number of submissions in support of Flat Bush subdivision, but not the
additional members.
|
|
Local board boundaries
|
Minor changes to
boundaries across Upper Harbour, Devonport-Takapuna, Kaipātiki,
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, and Puketāpapa local boards
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed minor local board boundary changes.
Generally, those in
support agree with the minor shifts and those who do not support feel there
is not enough information.
|
|
Local board
noncompliance
|
Hibiscus and Bays,
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, and Franklin local boards.
|
Feedback is mostly in
support of the proposed local board noncompliance.
|
35.
26. Through the
consultation on the representation review initial proposal, the council
received feedback on matters that are not covered by the representation review
scope under the LEA. The key themes for out-of-scope feedback include, but are
not limited to:
· support
for wider review (including reverting to pre-amalgamation)
· feedback
on Māori representation for Auckland Council
· support
for a change from First Past the Post to Single Transferable Vote
· requests
for more civic education opportunities to better understand council.
Local Board feedback on initial proposal
27. This report
provides the mechanism through which local boards may receive both high level
feedback and the full analysis report to inform their own feedback on the
initial proposal.
28. Local board
members who are also members of the JGWP are advised to stand aside from their
local board feedback discussions to mitigate the risk of a perceived conflict
of interest.
29. Local
boards will have an opportunity to present their feedback during a hearing on
the 6 September 2024. Further information will be communicated to the local
boards who wish to speak to their submissions.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
30. There
are no direct or specific climate change impacts resulting from this report or
its implementation.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
31. The
representation review proposes a number of relatively minor changes to
representation arrangements, including to ward and subdivision boundaries, and
in the case of the Howick Local Board, two additional members.
32. Should these
or any further changes be confirmed, there will be some
impact on council staff resourcing, which will mostly be absorbed within the
local election work programme.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
33. Local boards
have been involved throughout the representation review process via their
representatives on the JGWP, via workshops and business meeting resolutions.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
34. The Houkura
chair sits on the JGWP and engagement with Māori and mataawaka has been
ongoing as part of the process of developing the initial proposal, including
the local board reorganisation plan, which is not proceeding.
35. Separate
engagement sessions on the consultation material were held with Māori and mataawaka during early July.
36. Feedback from
Māori has focused less on the changes proposed through the representation
review initial proposal and more on the need for specific Māori
representation both on local boards and the Governing Body.
37. The current
legislation only contains provisions for Māori representation on the
Governing Body, not local boards. On 26 October 2023, the Governing Body
decided to not establish Māori wards for the 2025 local elections,
acknowledging the need for further work to be undertaken through the JGWP and
reported back to the Governing Body by 31 December 2024.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
38. There are no
specific or direct financial implications resulting from this report. Should
the proposed representation changes proceed at the 2025 local elections, there
will be some impact on council budgets.
39. Direct costs
associated with election process changes, modification of election material etc
will be absorbed within the local election work programme. There will also be
consequential costs on council’s systems and processes where matters are
shifted from one ward or local board to another. Again, it is expected these
would be absorbed within existing budgets.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
40. No specific
risks have been identified with this report, which is simply seeking local
board views on the representation review. Whatever representation arrangement
changes occur as a result of this review will be assessed for risks as part of
implementing those changes.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
41. Local board
feedback will be considered by the JGWP which has been appointed as the panel
to hear feedback in early September and included as appropriate in the working
party’s report to the Governing Body.
42. The Governing
Body will make decisions on the representation review at it 26 September
meeting. Any submitters may lodge objections or appeals to these decisions with
the Local Government Commission from 3 October – 3 November, which will
make final decisions.
43. Approved
representation arrangements will be implemented as part of the October 2025
local elections.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
|
No.
|
Title
|
Page
|
|
a⇩
|
Initial proposal document and feedback form
|
15
|
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
|
Authors
|
Libby Hetet - Senior Policy Project Manager -
Representation Project
|
|
Authorisers
|
Lou-Ann Ballantyne - General Manager Governance and
Engagement
Glenn Boyd - Local Area Manager
|
