The Napier City Council is proposing to cut the number of councillors at the table by one in its preferred representation option ahead of the 2025 local elections.
The option, cutting the number of councillors from 12 to 11, supports the establishment of a council of three general wards (Ahuriri, Napier Central and Taradale) of three councillors each and Napier’s first Māori ward (Te Whanga), with two members.
The current composition is four wards, with four members each in Nelson Park and Taradale, and two each in Onekawa-Tamatea and Ahuriri.
The option emerges from pre-consultation which had five options, developed from Local Government Commission recommendations that included the possibility of Napier’s first community board to represent Maraenui interests if it was determined within the legislation that it might not be fairly represented in the council framework.
The community board opportunity was ruled out when the council decided its preferred option at a meeting on June 27, as were options to return to any “at-large” across-the-city representation, as there was a mix of at-large and ward representation before the last review was completed leading up to the 2019 elections.
The Representation Review consultation is on sayitnapier.nz. Submissions must be received by 9am on August 8.
Deputy Mayor Annette Brosnan said the proposal aligns with community expectations that were signalled in two recent public surveys.
“What we heard from residents was a level of comfort with a slightly smaller, yet focused council,” she said.
The most recent Representation Review survey also asked residents whether to introduce councillors-at-large. Two options put to the community that included at-large councillors were the least preferred out of five options proposed.
“The community survey aligns with our view that the current ward-only system is still fit-for-purpose for Napier,” Brosnan said.
On the issue of community boards she said: “We believe there are other ways to maintain and strengthen community representation within Napier, without adding a further layer of bureaucracy. This view was supported by council’s Māori Committee, Ngā Mānukanuka o te Iwi.
“Local democracy is all about representing our residents,” she said. “I encourage everyone to let us know what they think about these proposals.”
By law, the Representation Review must be completed at least every six years, and the Napier council had to decide before the end of this month on the proposal, having in 2021 decided there would be at least one Māori ward.
But Government legislation expected in late July is likely to mandate councils to proactively revisit any previous decision to create Māori wards, meaning the council would have to consult the public again and make a new decision by September 6.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.