Tomorrow is the last chance to vote for what to do with the old Harbour building.
Tomorrow is the last chance to vote for what to do with the old Harbour building.
The results of the referendum over what do with the old harbour board building in Whangarei should be known by 5pm tomorrow.
Possibly half of all eligible voters will have had their say on which option should win the three-horse race - the Hundertwasser-inspired museum and Maori art gallery complex,a maritime history and Whangarei-focussed museum or demolishing the building.
The deadline for votes is noon tomorrow. Anyone who has not returned their paper but still wants to is advised to place it in ballot boxes at the council offices in Forum North or Ruakaka. After 12pm, Whangarei District staff will taxi those down to Election Services in Auckland to be included in the final count.
The referendum is being conducted using the First Past the Post electoral system, and voting documents were sent to all electoral roll voters who live in the Whangarei District. Preliminary results will be sent to Whangarei District councillors, Prosper Northland Trust (proposers of the HWMAC) and Future Whangarei (Proposers of Harbourside).
The council has said it is a binding referendum but if the majority choice is for either of the first two options that proposal must have secured all capital funding by June 30, 2017, to enable it to go ahead. By 2pm yesterday, 42.7 per cent of the postal voting papers had been returned.
