Ward name changes and boundary shifts are among changes to Waikato District Council’s Proposed Representation Review following a determination made by the Local Government Commission (LGC).

Following the close of appeals/objections period on Council's Final Proposal for the Representation Review, eight appeals and objections were heard by the Local Government Commission (LGC) and Council earlier this year and the changes from Council’s final proposal are as follows:

1. The names of the district’s two Māori wards have been changed to Tai Raro Takiwaa Maaori Ward and Tai Runga Takiwaa Maaori Ward. This was part of Te Whakakitenga o Waikato’s appeal, supported by Council. 
2. The boundary between the Tuakau-Pōkeno and the Awaroa-Maramarua General Wards has been moved to include the Mercer airfield in the Tuakau-Pōkeno General Ward 
3. The Raglan Community Board area has been extended and the Raglan community will not be subdivided into a rural/urban split 
4. The name of the Waerenga-Hukanui General Ward has been changed to the Waerenga-Whitikahu General Ward 

The LGC also confirmed that 13 councillors and a Mayor elected at large provides effective representation of communities of interest and fair representation for electors in the Waikato District for the upcoming local body elections, to be held on 8 October 2022.

Additionally, the six community boards proposed in the Representation Review remain, but the Rural-Port Waikato Community Board elected officials will be split by a north-south divide.  

The LGC's determination in full can be found here.

A breakdown of Waikato District Council’s new ward and community board structure can be found on Council's website.

On 28 September 2021 Council adopted its Final Proposal for the 2022 local body elections. The Final Proposal, Public Notice and a printable appeal/objection form can be found below.

Please provide your feedback by 5pm Wednesday 3 November 2021.

Interactive maps of proposed ward boundaries can be found here

Interactive maps of proposed community board boundaries can be found here

Click here to use the Reshape Waikato Mapping Tool

Like other councils, we are required to undertake a review of our current representation arrangements at least once every six years. This is to ensure we provide fair and effective representation for people and their communities, provide an effective voice, strengthen local democracy and help maintain confidence in local government.

We last reviewed our representation arrangements in 2018.The Local Government Commission, an independent government body that oversees councils’ representation reviews, recommended that we complete another review in 2021. This review will decide on how you will be represented at the 2022 council elections.

The Review considers:

• The number of voting areas (called 'wards'), if any, that is best for our district
• Whether we want to elect all, or some, of our councillors across the whole district or from a number of wards
• How many councillors there should be
• How many councillors there should be in each ward
• Whether we want to have community boards, and if so, how many members should each board have, which areas should they cover, and whether a board should be divided into subdivisions.

To determine the above issues, we have to take account of the following three key factors:

• To identify the District’s communities of interest;
• To ensure those communities of interest are effectively represented; and
• To ensure that electors are fairly represented - based on the '+/- 10 percent rule' for wards. For Waikato District Council, this means one elected member for every 5,535 to 6,766 people, unless there is a particular community of interest which may fall within one of the permitted exceptions.

The review does not look at:

• How communities are funded. This is considered as part of the Council’s Long Term Plan or Annual Plan, for which there are separate public consultations.
• The remuneration of elected members. The Remuneration Authority determines a pool of funding for remunerating Councillors, which does not change based on the number of Councillors.

• Waikato District has one Mayor who is elected by the whole of the district
• The District is divided into ten wards. Here is a map which shows you what our district currently looks like
• There are 13 councillors in total. Each ward has between one and two councillors.
• We also have five community boards – each board has six elected members, and either one or two appointed Councillors.

Quick Links

Ward and community board maps

Local Government Commission- The Representation Review Process

Local Electoral Act 2001