Big change beckons for council

Whangarei’s political landscape is set for its biggest change in more than 30 years.

Whanga¯rei District Council (WDC) yesterday decided to wipe its localised six-ward voting system in favour of a district-wide approach.

Some 68,000 electors will have to vote under the new system when they go to the local government polls in October 2022.

The change comes as WDC brings in a new district-wide Ma¯ori ward.

WDC will become one of only 11 councils out of 66 nationally using the district-wide voting system, if its proposal goes through.

Residents will have a month to appeal WDC’s final proposal decision, from Friday.

Representation for the next elections has polarised the council.

A meeting last week deadlocked 7:7, voting on localised general wards versus district-wide voting emerged. Mayor Sheryl Mai decided not to use her casting vote, thereby maintaining the localised general wards, in spite of supporting them during debate.

However yesterday, deadlocked voting on the change surfaced again after councillors Nick Connop and Tricia Cutforth pushed district-wide voting.

Deputy Mayor Greg Innes effectively broke the deadlock. Mai did not, therefore, need to use her casting vote.

Innes’ abstension followed him voting for retaining the current wards system at the previous August 31 meeting. However, he yesterday said he was keeping an open mind, in spite of also outlining the value of locallybased wards.

Yesterday’s initial proposal agenda item was for Whanga¯rei to still have six wards.

The district’s current six wards are Bream Bay (2), Hikurangi coastal (2), Mangakahia-Maungatapere (1), Whanga¯rei Heads (1), Denby (3) and Okara (4).

These would become five general wards: Bream Bay (2), Hikurangi coastal (2), MangakahiaMaungatapere (1), Whanga¯rei Heads (1) and Whanga¯rei urban (combining Denby and Okara) (5).

The sixth would be a district-wide Ma¯ori ward with two councillors.

But the meeting moved away from that, settling instead on just two district-wide wards – with 12 elected councillors and a mayor.