Draft electoral boundaries for the next two general elections were released this morning.
Key changes include the addition of a new electorate located in the West Auckland area and one new Maori electorate located over the Auckland isthmus.
Forty-five of the current general electorates have had boundary changes, while five have
had name changes.
The Representation Commission Chairman Judge Bernard Kendall said the changes reflected the "growing population in Auckland, the shrinking population in the Central North Island and the decreasing population in the southern part of the South Island".
Judge Kendall said demographic changes over the last five years had led to "imbalances in the electoral populations of a number of electorates throughout the country".
The commission is an independent body, although it contains political representation from the major parties. It has spent the last month redrawing the boundaries following the census and the 2001 Maori electoral option.
The public has until December 20 to make objections.
On January 10 a summary of the objections will be made public, with a two-week period after that for counter-objections.
The final boundaries will be released next April.
- NZPA
