Hauraki District Council changes tack on reducing its number of elected members

Hauraki District Council voted to introduce Māori Wards in October 2023.

Hauraki District Council has changed direction on a proposal to reduce the number of councillors for the 2025 local government elections.

In April, the council voted to reduce the number of councillors per ward by one, bringing the total number of councillors to 12 plus the mayor.

The community was then invited to give feedback on this, with the majority opposing the move. Having considered the public submissions, the council now amended its initial proposal.

Under the latest proposal, there would now be four councillors in the Plains ward, three in the Paeroa ward, four in the Waihī ward and two Māori ward councillors, bringing the total number of elected members for Hauraki up to 13 councillors plus the mayor.

Hauraki Mayor Toby Adams said the council had unanimously voted to amend the proposal after a majority of public submissions supported retaining the current number of councillors in the Plains ward.

“This is what the community wanted to see; it is a good show of democracy at work, this is now a decision made with councillors and the community together.”

The earlier option proposed three councillors each for Paeroa and Plains; four councillors for Waihī and two Māori ward councillors.

Hauraki District currently has four councillors each for the Paeroa and Plains wards and five for the Waihī ward, for a total of 13 councillors plus the mayor.

The council received 82 submissions on its initial proposal, with 26 submissions (32%) in support of the initial proposal and 56 submissions (68%) against.

Hauraki Mayor Toby Adams.

Those who supported the initial proposal suggested it could encourage younger and more diverse councillors, and improve communication, while those opposed said having three councillors for the Plains ward was insufficient for its large geographical area.

The majority of submissions supported the current number of councillors for the Plains ward and making no boundary changes.

The council’s decision is not final as anyone who made a submission on the council’s initial proposal could lodge an appeal. An appeal had to relate to the matters raised in that person’s submission.

Councils are required to review their representation arrangements every six years.