Changes proposed to some of our Parliamentary electoral boundaries

The changes would see 2400 people in the current Hamilton West electorate become part of the adjusted Waikato electorate.Photo / Electoral Commission

With the 2020 general election fast approaching there are proposed changes to electoral boundaries in both Hamilton and the wider Waikato.

The proposed changes would see 2400 people in the current Hamilton West electorate become part of the adjusted Waikato electorate, while around 9100 voters in Te Aroha and Waitoa is would move from Coromandel electorate to Waikato electorate.

The current electorate of Hunua will be renamed Port Waikato, while the boundaries would also change with a large area including Pōkeno and Te Kauwhata added from Waikato.

The process is accepting counter-objections to any objections that were made to the proposed boundaries and names in December, before the Representation Commission holds public hearings of objections and counter-objections throughout February and a final decision is made in April for the 2020 elections.

In Hamilton West, the electorate is 6.9 per cent over quota with the population at 67,010 and the quota being 64,899, particularly in the area east of the Waikato River.

The area is too large to be transferred to Hamilton East, which is already at 4.3 per cent above quota so a population of 2400 around Horsham Downs will be moved into the Waikato.

The quota is set by the Electoral Commission, which imposes a minimum and maximum population for electorates based on population changes. Photo / Electoral Commission

The Waikato electorate is currently 9.7 per cent over quota and must gain further population from neighbouring electorates after adjustments are made.

The quota is set by the Electoral Commission, which imposes a minimum and maximum population for electorates based on population changes according to the most recent Census.

All electorates must contain populations varying not more than plus or minus 5 per cent from the quota.

The proposal is to move a population of 9100 around Te Aroha and Waitoa from Coromandel, including the 2400 around Horsham Downs added from Hamilton West. Population is also added from Taupō, 1900 around Tīrau and 1200 north of Cambridge.

To balance these gains Waikato electorate would lose a population of 20,400 in a large area including Pōkeno and Te Kauwhata to Port Waikato (currently Hunua).

The current electorate of Hunua is 14.2 per cent over quota. It loses a large area including Beachlands, Whitford, Hunua and Bombay with a population of 20,200 to Papakura.

It also loses a population of 12,400 around Mission Heights and Murphys Road to the new electorate of Flat Bush as part of the redraw of the south Auckland electorates.

To balance these changes a large area including Pōkeno and Te Kauwhata with a population of 20,400 is added from Waikato.

View the proposed changes here.