Horowhenua District Council has resisted changing its voting system from the current First Past the Post system to a Single Transferable Vote system for the next local body election in 2025.
That was despite a recommendation from review panel into the future of local government - He mata whāriki, he matawhānui - that it change to the STV system, even suggesting it become a legislative requirement.
The rationale behind that recommendation was that what was termed a “winner take all” system (FPP) was poorly equipped to represent a population’s diversity, whereas under (STV) votes could be transferred, avoiding “wasted ballots”.
But councillor Ross Brannigan said the FPP system had served the district well and was used by 83 per cent of local bodies in New Zealand, and moved that the status quo remain.
“I haven’t heard enough to change my mind,” he said.
Mayor of Horowhenua Bernie Wanden agreed and said it was more important to focus on increasing voter turnout to a level greater than 40 per cent rather than the election method.
“There are far more important things we should be considering,” he said.
Mayor Wanden said the current HDC elected membership was more youthful and ethnically diverse than it had ever been, and noted that the 15 (of 78) local authorities that had adopted the STV were larger metropolitan areas where there where more candidates who tended to be less well-known.
Council met this afternoon to consider options, which basically meant retaining FPP, changing to STV, or conducting a public poll which would have come with an estimated cost between $100,000 and $110,000 based on an electorate of 26,000 voters.
The Local Electoral Act 2001 provides the opportunity for local authorities to choose between the first past the post (FPP) and the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system for local elections.
Under STV, every voter has a single vote and ranked candidates in order of preference. Under FPP electors tick their preferred candidate, up to the number of vacancies and candidates with the highest number of votes are elected.
FPP was used by 81 per cent of local authorities in 2022 (63 of 78) including Horowhenua, Manawatū andRangitīkei District Councils, and was widely used throughout the world.
Few councils had opted to use STV since it was first introduced in 2004 and since then a number of “STV councils” have moved between using FPP and STV, which was used by 19 per cent of local authorities at the last election, including Kāpiti Coast, Palmerston North and Ruapehu.
The motion to retain the current FPP system was carried by a 6 to 4 majority. Councillors Ross Brannigan, Nina Hori Te Pa, Paul Olsen, Pirihira Tukapua, Allan Young and Mayor Bernie Wanden supported the motion, while councillors David Allan, Sam Jennings, Clinton Grimstone and Justin Tamihana voted against.
Deputy mayor of Horowhenua David Allan.
The last time the issue went to a poll vote in Horowhenua was in 2002, where a 5498 to 3974 majority result saw a continuation of FFP. The system remained unchanged when it was revisited again in 2014, and had been used since.
Any change to the electoral system did not affect the number of Māori wards.
- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.
