Representation review pānui 16 - Councils

In this pānui:
- Closing statements
- Representation review by the numbers
- Final steps - plans
- 2024 Statistics NZ Population Estimates
15 May 2025

Kia ora koutou,  

Welcome to our final pānui. This update covers:

Closing statements

The Commission issued its final determinations on 07 April 2025.  We will be identifying insights from this round to inform resources for the next round, including our representation guidelines.  We would like to thank all the council officers we have worked with over the representation review process.  

All determinations issued in 2024/2025 are available on our website at this link.

Representation reviews by the numbers 

41 Councils undertook representation reviews this round. Out of these: 

  • 20 were compliant and did not receive any appeals/objections, therefore did not require a determination. 
  • The Commission issued determinations to 10 councils based on information available to the Commission, without a hearing being held. 
  • 11 required hearings 

Across the 41 councils who undertook reviews, there were 6148 submitters to initial proposals.   

There were 100 valid appeals/objections to council’s final proposals.  The council with the most appeals/objections was Western Bay of Plenty with 37 valid appeals/objections.   

There were 1123 views of Commission hearings.  The most watched hearing was Hutt City with 191 views, closely followed by Auckland with 190.  

There were 58 speakers at Commission hearings, with the most appearing at the Auckland hearing, which had 14 speakers.    

Final steps 

Plans of electoral areas 

Where boundaries have been altered or new electoral areas established, plans defining those boundaries and areas must be arranged. 

Representation arrangements for the next local authority or community board election do not take effect unless plans of the relevant electoral areas have been certified by the Surveyor-General (LINZ). 

When the Commission has determined a local authority’s representation arrangements, the Commission will arrange for the preparation of plans, however the cost of this remains with the local authority.  

The Commission has started the process for preparing plans for all councils that have received a determination. 

Councils that made changes to their representation but did not require a determination are responsible for arranging their own plans. Plans must be arranged and certified by the Surveyor General (LINZ) before the next election.  This is a requirement of section 19Y(3)-(5) of the Local Electoral Act. 

The Surveyor General has specific standards to be met in preparing these plans.  The requirements can be found at this link: https://www.linz.govt.nz/resources/regulatory/standard-plans-local-authority-electoral-areas-linzs50000  

When plans are not required 

Plans are not required where the area of a community board is the same as that of a ward (unless the community is divided into subdivisions). 

New plans are not required where councils reviewed their representation arrangements and did not make any changes. 

Public notice of representation arrangements 

For Councils that didn’t have a determination, it is a requirement under S19Y of the LEA to notify relevant agencies.  More information on this can be found in chapter 9 of our representation review guidelines.  

2024 Statistics New Zealand Population Estimates  

Stats NZ have released population estimates as at 30 June 2024 (2023 census base) for the 2025 local government electoral areas areas follows: 

  • Regions
  • Territorial authorities
  • Regional constituencies
  • Wards
  • Communities and local boards
  • Subdivisions 

The estimates are available on page 2 of the "Representation Review Resources" page of our website.

On the same page, you can also now find the 2024 estimates (2023 census base) for Māori electoral population (MEP) and general electoral population (GEP) at the regional and district levels. 

Thank you again to everyone for their work, particularly over the last few months.  

Ngā mihi 

The Local Government Commission Team 

The information contained in this update is intended to support well-informed council decisions and good practice throughout the representation review process.  Specific representation arrangements are decisions for each council. The information is provided by Commission officials and does not reflect a particular view or preference of the Commission for any specific representation arrangement. Where representation is determined by the Commission, each determination is considered on its own merits taking into account the information available to the Commission.