Hauraki District Council eyes changes to bring in two Māori ward councillors

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

Hauraki District Council has voted to reduce by one the number of councillors per ward for the 2025 local government elections while standing by the decision to add two Māori ward councillors, bringing the total number of councillors to 12 plus the mayor for 2025.

“Today our councillors showed courage and common sense to come to a conclusion for the best way forward for our communities,” Hauraki mayor Toby Adams said following the Wednesday meeting.

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

“As has been demonstrated with our Love This Place (Long Term Plan 2024-2034), placemaking and Hauraki Plains adaptation plan community meetings, our councillors work across the whole district, not just in their ward. It’s the Hauraki way, " Adams said.

“For this reason, we feel comfortable reducing the current number of councillors per ward by one for 2025, plus adding one Māori ward with two councillors, and still have good representation for the wards around the council table.”

The next step is for the council to take the option to the community for feedback as it sits outside the guidelines for population versus the councillor ratio.

“Here’s where being bold comes in”, Adams said.

“With the support of the community, we can achieve something quite unique. We’ve seen that 13 elected members can get the job done, we don’t think we need more councillors, so today’s decision means more inclusivity for the same effectiveness.

“We think that’s a win-win for [the] council and the community.”

Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams. Photo / Supplied

To achieve the head of population to councillor ratio for the option proposed by the council, there would need to be a tweak to the Plains and Paeroa ward boundaries to meet the +-10 per cent threshold.

The population for the Plains sits at 1 per cent over the threshold for the proposed option.

Hauraki District currently has based on population, 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 new option proposed three councillors each for Paeroa and Plains; four councillors for Waihī and two Māori ward councillors for a total of 12 councillors plus the mayor.

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

Hauraki District Council would take this proposed option to the community for their feedback next month.

“We think it makes sense to go with these numbers. We’re proposing to slightly amend the Paeroa/Plains border to meet the population to councillor ratio and we’re keen to hear what our communities think about this option when we go out for consultation in May,” Adams said.