Under the proposal, Prebbleton, Ladbrooks, and Templeton would move from the Selwyn electorate to Wigram.
The change aims to address Selwyn’s population growth, which has pushed it well beyond the legislated 5% population variance for South Island electorates, currently 70,037.
The adjustment would reduce Selwyn’s electorate population from 79,806 to 68,506.
Submissions to the commission said there was a concern about a Christchurch MP, currently Labour’s Megan Woods, representing part of Selwyn.
The Prebbleton Community Association said while it understands the need to balance the numbers, it did not think the current solution was the right one.
“We are concerned that Prebbleton is a distinctly different community from those in the Wigram electorate and we do not believe this is a good fit,” the association said in its submission.
“Prebbleton is a small but growing town within a rural Selwyn setting, whereas the rest of the Wigram electorate is made up of sprawling high density urban suburbs, within the greater area of Christchurch City.”
Residents also expressed concern over the mismatch between council and electorate boundaries.
The proposal would fix issues like Templeton and Yaldhurst being within city boundaries, but in the Selwyn electorate.
Association chair Jane Elms proposed a number of solutions in her personal submission, such as Banks Peninsula picking up part of Selwyn, such as Tai Tapu, or the Wigram electorate picking up West Melton.
Public hearings will be held from June 9-18, with final decisions due on August 8.
