16.1.1 Representation arrangements
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Representation arrangements relate to the way that councillors and local board members are elected.
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The council is required to conduct representation reviews at least once every six years [1]. The council resolved in its initial representation proposal on 18 October 2018 [2].
- Auckland Council’s Governing Body resolved at its 27 February 2020 meeting that no further action be taken to review representation arrangements for the 2022 elections [3]. The next representation review will be prior to the 2025 local elections. Any review must be conducted in accordance with the timeframes set out in legislation [4].
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Representation arrangements that must be reviewed include [5]:
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whether councillors are elected on a ward (i.e. division of the district) basis, or for the district as a whole
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if applicable, the name and boundaries of each ward and the number of councillors to be elected in each wardwhether
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whether local board members are elected on a subdivision (i.e. division of the local board area) basis or for the local board area as a whole, and the number of members in each local board (between five and 12 [6])
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if applicable, the name and boundaries of local board subdivisions, and the number of members to be elected in each subdivision
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the names of local boards.
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While other councils can review the number of councillors, the number for Auckland Council is fixed in legislation at 20 [7].
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Councils also have a power to consider dividing the district into one or more Māori wards for electoral purposes [8].
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Auckland Council’s boundaries and the boundaries and number of local boards can be reviewed only through a local government reorganisation process.
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