Wairoa's votes roll in fast on amalgamation

The votes are rolling in at Wairoa.

Amalgamation proposal northern outpost Wairoa has made its mark on the vote by becoming the first area to have more than half its electors lodge their voters.

By late yesterday morning, election managers Electionz.com had received 2827 votes from the Wairoa District, representing 52.55 per cent of those on the roll for the area.

It compared with 49.72 per cent in Napier, 46.33 per cent in Central Hawke's Bay, and 38.31 per cent in largest district Hastings.

The 48,896 votes received represented 44.09 per cent of the combined roll of 110,905, which includes 48 in the Rangitikei and Taupo districts.

The postal vote opened when distribution of papers started on August 24 for a binding referendum on whether Wairoa, Napier, Hastings and CHB should merge with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council to create a single unitary authority to be known as the Hawke's Bay Council.

Based on 2013 Census of population figures if a majority support the Local Government Commission's proposal, the new council would oversee a population of 153,092, becoming the fourth-biggest council after Auckland (population 1,415,550), Christchurch City (341,469) and Wellington City (190,956), and surpassing Hamilton City (141,615).

Wairoa's keenness is no surprise to mayor Craig Little, with current trends indicating as much as 70 per cent of the district will exercise their vote, and that across the region it is likely to "average-out" over 60 per cent.

It was also a relief.

Wairoa was showing it wasn't the small-bit player some had presumed because of its share of the roll - less than 5 per cent.

"It's all good, we have been urging people to vote," Mr Little said last night.

"It's incredible, isn't it?"

"My biggest fear was that only 40 per cent would turn out (across the region) and it would be decided by as little as 20 per cent," he said.

At the 2013 local government elections, when Mr Little was elected mayor for the first time, 62 per cent of Wairoa's roll voted - the second-highest percentage turnout in the country.

Mr Little is, however, not calling a result yet.

"We've been having a big and robust discussion around different scenarios," he said.

"Who knows what the voting will be?"

-The vote closes at noon next Tuesday and a preliminary result is expected to be known later in the day.