Manual recount in court on Wednesday

A MANUAL recount for the sixth Wakatipu ward seat around the Queenstown Lakes District Council table will be held next Wednesday.

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult made the announcement at the first full meeting of this triennium, held at the Lakes Hayes Pavilion, yesterday afternoon.

Candidate Glyn Lewers applied to the district court on Monday for a recount after missing out to rival AJ Mason by just one vote — 2183 to Mr Mason’s 2184.

Judge Mark Callaghan was satisfied Mr Lewers had reasonable grounds to believe the declaration was incorrect and that on recount he might be elected.

The initial count was conducted by using vote counting software, operated by Electionnz.com Ltd, unclear entries and blanks being checked manually.

‘‘Where data entry is occurring at high speeds there is an inherent potential for error even with the safeguards provided by the Electionnz.com Ltd vote counting processes, ’’ Judge Callaghan said.

The recount is due to be held at Queenstown District Court — Mr Boult said it could take two days — and logistics were being worked through.

Meanwhile, at yesterday’s council meeting, Mr Mason — who was officially sworn in — moved an item of general business, which was to thank the electoral officer, Jane Robertson for her hard work.

‘‘And also to the fact we’re not letting her off the hook quite yet,’’ he quipped.

At the end of the meeting, Mr Boult told councillors he looked forward to getting on with the job.

‘‘We’ve got a lot to do in the next three years, let’s hit the ground running.’’

Other new faces around the council table in the district are Heath Copland (Arrowtown), Niki Gladding (Wakatipu), and Niamh Shaw (Wanaka).

Cr Calum MacLeod, of Wanaka, was reappointed as deputy mayor by Mr Boult.

PHOTO: TRACEY ROXBURGH Sworn in . . . The new Queenstown Lakes District Council was sworn in at the first official meeting for the triennium, at the Lake Hayes Pavilion, yesterday. Pictured (from left) are Val Miller, John MacDonald, Niki Gladding, Penny Clark, and Mayor Jim Boult, all of Queenstown, deputy mayor Calum MacLeod, of Wanaka, Heath Copland, of Arrowtown, AJ Mason, of Queenstown, Niamh Shaw and Quentin Smith, both of Wanaka, and Craig Ferguson, of Queenstown.