2023-24 Representation Review

Background

Elections for councils are held every three years. This is when residents vote for mayors and councillors, and in some parts of New Zealand, for community board members.

Councils are required by the Local Electoral Act 2001 to take a fresh look at their representation arrangements at least once every six years. This is to ensure the council is structured to best serve the interests and needs of its community.

For Napier, this means we have considered:

• How many councillors should be on council?
• How many wards should our city have, what should their boundaries be, and what should they be named?
• Should we have a mix of both ward councillors and at large councillors?
• How many Māori wards and councillors should Napier have?
• Should we establish community boards?

We undertook a community survey on these matters in late 2023, including analysis to identify communities of interest in Napier. Council considered the community’s feedback and analysis. A further community survey was then undertaken in May 2024, asking the community for their most preferred option out of five potential options.

Council is now making an initial proposal for Napier’s representation arrangements, and we want to know what you think.

What are we proposing?

We are proposing that Napier residents are represented by councillors and a mayor under the following arrangements. Please refer to the map to see the ward boundaries.

It’s important to note that all councillors, regardless of the area they are elected to represent, make the same declaration to act in the best interests of the whole of Napier. A resident can ask any councillor for help and is not limited to their local ward councillors. Note that your rates won’t be affected even though we are proposing to have less councillors. The total pool of remuneration for councillors is determined by an independent government agency. Napier City Council will have the same amount of money to pay its elected members, no matter how many there are.

One Māori ward – Te Whanga

• We are proposing one Māori ward, to be known as Te Whanga.
• It would cover the entire boundary of Napier City.
• This ward would have two councillors.
• Only people enrolled on the Māori roll would be able to vote for candidates for this ward.

Three general wards

• We are proposing three general wards, to be known as Ahuriri Ward, Napier Central Ward and Taradale Ward.
• All these wards would have three councillors each.
• Only people enrolled on the General roll would be able to vote for candidates in these wards.
• Residents may only vote for candidates in the ward they live in.

Ahuriri Ward
Bay View, Westshore, Inlet Napier City, Ahuriri, Bluff Hill, Hospital Hill, Poraiti Flat, Poraiti Hills, Napier Central, Nelson Park, McLean Park, Awatoto, the eastern part of Meeanee, and the northern part of Onekawa West.

Napier Central Ward
Marewa West, Marewa East, Onekawa Central, Onekawa East, Onekawa South, Maraenui, Pirimai East, Pirimai West, Tamatea North, Tamatea West, and Tamatea East, the southern part of Onekawa West, and the Bupa Willowbank Retirement Village.

Taradale Ward
Greenmeadows West, Greenmeadows Central, Greenmeadows South, Taradale West, Taradale Central, Taradale South, Tareha Reserve, Bledisloe Park, and the western part of Meeanee.

What about Māori wards?

For Napier’s population and proposed council size, there is the possibility of having either one Māori ward with two councillors, or two Māori wards with one councillor each.

In this consultation, we are proposing to have one Māori ward with two representatives for the following reasons.

• There will be two councillors working together.
• Will have a similar number of councillors to some of Napier’s general wards.
• Collective responsibility.
• Easier selection process for voters.

We considered proposing two Māori wards – one smaller ward with a high percentage of Māori electoral population and one larger ward with a similar percentage of Māori electoral population. Although this arrangement would reflect where a high percentage of Māori electoral population lives, it may result in uneven numbers of candidates standing in each ward, or no-one standing in one of the wards. There is also an increased chance that a candidate gets in without any competition. We are therefore not consulting on having two Māori wards.

See further information below about why Māori wards are included in this Representation Review.

What about community boards?

Community boards have functions and powers delegated to them by their councils. The cost of community boards is funded through rates.

Currently Napier doesn’t have any community boards. In our first survey on the representation review in late 2023, we asked the community whether introducing community boards would be appropriate for Napier. Most respondents said Napier does not need a community board, with 33% across Napier expressing support. However, there was positive feedback from residents based in and near Maraenui to establish a community board there.

In our second survey in May 2024, we asked residents for their views on establishing a single community board in Maraenui and surrounding areas. 64% respondents from Maraenui expressed support and 53% of respondents from Nelson Park ward. However feedback on this did not reach a consensus across the city, with a nearly even split of 45% against and 41% in favour, and 14% unsure or neutral. Just under half of respondents believed there are enough existing means within the Maraenui community to be represented; 22% were dissatisfied with existing arrangements, and one-third (33%) were unsure.

After considering this feedback and acknowledging that there are alternative ways to maintain and strengthen local community representation and connections within Napier, Council is not proposing a community board for this or any other area in Napier.