Back of the Agenda: Ward system recap

In all the excitement of the Nelson City Council’s decision to adopt the Ma¯ori ward system, a slight detail might have been missed – the remaining electorate will also have to have at least one ward established.

More than one elected member has mentioned since the decision that it was possible that people hadn’t fully realised its reach – so this week’s column is once again looking at what the ward system means for the city.

Firstly, it’s important to know that people have a chance to have their say on what the ward system will look like in Nelson, as the council is currently undertaking its required sixyearly representation review. Submissions can be made on the Shape Nelson web page, via an 11-question survey.

The ward system is nothing to be afraid of – it’s already in use in Tasman District – but it will make for some changes around how city council elections work.

In Tasman, there are five wards based on geography and population. People can vote for prospective councillors standing in their ward, but voting for mayor is on an ‘‘at large’’ basis. Hopefuls for a role on the council can stand in whichever ward they like.

There are a couple of ways this could work in Nelson.

The first is that Nelson could decide to simply have two wards: the Ma¯ori ward and an ‘‘at large’’ ward.

This would mean at least one councillor would be a Ma¯ori ward councillor, with the remaining councillors and the mayor voted for in the ‘‘at large’’ ward.

An alternative is that Nelson is divided into a number of wards, similar to Tasman, based on geography and population. For example, the council could be made up of councillors who stood in a Ma¯ori Ward, a Stoke Ward, an Atawhai Ward, and a City Centre Ward, with the number of councillors per ward based on population demographics.

(Note: this is an example only, the number of wards, which areas they cover, and how many councillors represent them have yet to be determined.)

It is also possible to have a mixed system, with a Ma¯ori ward, several wards based on geography and population, and a general ‘‘at large’’ ward.

Depending on what result the council settles on, this could affect how many potential councillors people are able to vote for.

If voting is restricted like in Tasman’s system, it is possible that people in the hypothetical Stoke Ward would only be able to vote for the mayor and for the mayor and a selection of candidates standing for election in the Stoke Ward. A mixed system would allow that same hypothetical Stoke Ward resident to vote for candidates standing in both the Stoke Ward and the ‘‘at large’’ ward.

The council will be putting options to the community in August, and must agree on an initial proposal by September 8. The representation review consultation is open until July 11.

The ward system . . . will make for some changes around how city council elections work.