Following the Hibiscus Coast Local Board meeting on Tuesday, 27th August, the Council considered the feedback taken from the Representation Review.

The public consultation took place from July 8 to August 8, receiving 2,359 submissions.

Of this number, 2,241 individuals and 27 organisations provided feedback.

Proposals were made to expand the North Shore Ward and add two subdivisions to the Rodney Local Board.

The North Shore Ward’s expansion is intended to adhere to the fairness of representation rule.

At the same time, the changes to Rodney were aimed at better reflecting the shared interests of rural communities.

Of the submitters that supported the proposals, the most common theme raised in comments was improved representation, giving feedback that the proposals provided fairer representation.

The proposed changes for the Rodney Local Board subdivisions were a notable exception, drawing mixed support.

Half the individual submitters supported it, while most campaigns and organisations were against it.

There was strong opposition from 76 per cent of submitters who lived in the Rodney Local Board area.

The feedback generally given was that submitters believed their needs would not be adequately represented.

The purpose of this review is to consider Auckland Council’s representation arrangements every six years.

This ensures the council holds local elections representing Auckland’s populace fairly and effectively.

The fairness of representation rule that electors of any ward represent a ‘similar number of people’ in terms of population across the Auckland wards and subdivisions.

The ratio should be within 10 per cent of the average.