Every six years, all councils are required to review their representation arrangements, including how many councillors there are and the areas they represent.
This is an opportunity for you to think about how you are represented on the council, and tell us whether you think it’s fair and effective.
The initial proposal considers the sizes of our constituencies, their boundaries and names, and the number of councillors who should represent the communities in each of these constituencies.
Our proposal recommends some minor changes to boundaries while largely keeping existing arrangements, with 12 councillors representing six constituencies.
The proposed boundary changes would impact the Eastern-Dome, Hokonui and Western constituencies, and ensure our constituencies better align with the Southland District Council ward boundaries.
Current arrangements were put in place in 2007 and re-affirmed in 2013 and 2019.
A final proposal will be considered by the council in September, before being submitted for approval to the Local Government Commission.
The arrangements decided on as part of this review will take effect for the local government elections in October next year.
Information about the representation review, the initial proposal and the feedback form are available on the Environment Southland website at https://www.es.govt.nz/aboutus/consultations/representation-review-2024.
You can make a submission from now until 5pm on Monday, August 19.— Wilma Falconer, Environment Southland chief executive
