Talking Point: Effective voice for all communities key in representation proposal

Nigel Bickle is chief executive of Hastings District Council. Photo / NZME

In mid-October, Hastings District Council will meet to finalise its proposal for the way councillors will be elected at the next local government elections.

In light of recent opinions expressed on the council's initial representation proposal, I thought it worthwhile providing the context for council decision-making and the representation review framework.

Representation reviews are governed under the Local Electoral Act 2001, which requires the current elected members to undertake a review at least every six years. This is not deemed a conflict of interest - the act requires it.

The act also sets out the basis for deciding representation arrangements. These involve identifying "communities of interest" within a council area and determining representation arrangements that provide for both "effective representation" of those communities of interest and "fair representation" of electors.

Fair representation is guided by a rule that says the population per councillor in each electoral ward should be within +/-10 per cent of the average population per councillor.

In terms of the number of councillors, the Local Government Act says there can be anywhere between six and 29. It is left to each council to decide based on the characteristics and needs of their communities.

The Hastings district is large and has unique characteristics including rural, coastal and diverse urban communities. Comparing Hastings and Wellington, which is a predominantly urban population with similar communities of interest, is like comparing apples and oranges.

Hastings has had a settled five-ward structure electing 14 councillors since 2013. That structure has provided effective representation for the district's various communities of interest: rural communities, and the communities of the Heretaunga Plains, Flaxmere and the Hastings and Havelock North urban area. It complied with the +/-10 per cent rule.

The introduction of Māori wards changed the representation equation. The electoral population in each of the general wards was reduced. And the impact wasn't even – for instance, the Flaxmere ward lost an estimated 5370 persons (out of 12,250) to the Māori ward electoral population.

The council faced a difficult representation map. To retain 14 councillors, three had to come from Māori wards. Eleven councillors did not divide well across the ward structure and did not comply with +/- 10 per cent.

Other options amalgamated existing wards and diminished effective representation.

To get a workable solution, an extra councillor was added. There are proposed to be 12 councillors elected from the five general wards and three councillors from a Māori ward.

Some comments have pointed to the Flaxmere general ward being under-represented.

However, the majority of councillors felt it preferable to retain a distinct voice for Flaxmere rather than pursue alternatives. To ensure compliance with the +/-10 "rule", council could have merged Flaxmere with Hastings and Havelock North. This would have been "fair" under the law, but Flaxmere would have lost its distinct voice.

The idea that councillor salaries could be increased by reducing the number of councillors has also been raised.

Firstly, the total remuneration pool is set by the Remuneration Authority and council allocates this depending on the workload of councillors (for example, if they are the chair or deputy chair of committees or subcommittees, they receive more pay). The suggested remuneration structure then has to be approved by the Remuneration Authority.

Secondly, reducing the number of councillors would reduce the representation of communities of interest, including reducing the number of Māori seats and diluting rural representation.

Council does not have the final say on these issues. The Local Government Commission will consider any appeals or objections on council's final proposal early next year.

• Nigel Bickle is chief executive of Hastings District Council