What is (and isn’t) a Representation Review and Why does it matter?

  By Councillor Anne Galloway 

On the 19th June the Christchurch City Council approved ward changes needed to meet the requirements of the Electoral Act 2001. 

“Local authorities are required to review their representation arrangements at least once every six years,” says John Filsell, Head of Community Support, Governance and Partnerships. “This is our chance to look at how our city’s population has grown or shifted, and tweak the ward boundaries to make sure they all represent about the same number of people. In terms of the population, we need to keep each ward within +/-10 per cent of each other, and this proposal allows us do that. It means that each Councillor represents about 25,000 people, and each Community Board member about 13,000, which keeps everyone’s access to their local elected member fair across the city, and translates to more effective representation for communities.”  This process ensures that someone in, say, Opawa has the same access to their Councillor and Community Board as someone in Belfast. It's all about equity. 

There's been a lot of confusion and anxiety about the representation review, so I thought it would be good to talk about what it all means. 

Firstly a Representation Review: 

• Does NOT affect school zones (those are set only by the Ministry of Education) 
• Is NOT a council led process – it is required by Central Government as part of the Electoral Act. 
• Does NOT change the suburb you live in nor which suburb in which you can say you live. 
• Does NOT change your postcode.
  

A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. If you find yourself in a different ward because of the representation review, it will mean that you will have different candidates to vote for in the next Local Body Elections (elections that vote in our City councillors, Regional councillors and community board members). These Election times are really the only time you will notice any change. 

What do I do if I want to challenge this proposed change? The proposed changes agreed to by Council were published on the 25th June.  Take a look at the new boundaries. 

Anyone can object to the proposed changes until the 25 the July. If you want to object and need help, please contact me, Anne Galloway, or your local Community Board members, Andrei Moore or Debbie Mora.

June News from around the community:

Halswell Hall

Judith outlined the work the hall has had done. This includes major drainworks and installation of a water filter.  They are also fundraising and seeking sponsorship for an outdoor AED.  The Spring bulb fundraiser raised $600 and the latest fundraiser is Pies. Judith left some flyers and details for interested people.

Kiwi Church

Beer and BBQ Church is happening at the Hub each Sunday. 

Halswell Community Project

Chrys requested items for the newsletter and Judith passed on congratulations for a successful AGM.

Keri shared that the May market was a huge success with a beautiful day and over 1200 people visiting.

Kate shared that the council had voted unanimously to gift the Hub to HCP and that HCP are now working with staff to organise this.

A reminder that the Hub is a collection point for Blankets, Wine Bottle Tops, Bread Tags and sports gear for the give gear get great programme.

Friendship Club / Garden Club

Meeting regularly as usual

CDEM (Civil Defence)

Sonali introduced herself as the new Community Resilience Coordinator to work with communities on response etc. She shared a series of leaflets/flyers and information that are useful for communities including radio frequencies and information on tsunami zones.

Halswell Residents Association.

John outlined the work the HRA has been doing including submissions to the council and concerns over the ward systema nd boundaries.

HRA are currently opposing and extension of hours and footpath advertising by the Bottle-O on Ensign Street. They have also been discussing speed restrictions and the Matai Stumps on Quaifes road.

Halswell Residents Association meet on the last Monday of each month, 7pm at St Marys Church.

CCC

Emma shared that the representation review was due to close (Thursday 17th June)

Sam shared about an upcoming engagement on parks in Halswell that she would like to hear from the community about. More information to follow.

Get Set Go workshop is coming up for those who might be interested. This is a 1 day workshop for anyone involved in organising community events. For more information contact Sam.

Community Board

Debbie and Andrei outlined what the community board have been working on. This includes the representation review and ward boundaries. Kennedys bush was originally positioned in the Cashmere ward but has now been reassigned to Halswell. This unfortunately created another issue which saw Knights Stream pushed out to Hornby. Following more discussion with Council Knights Stream is now back in Halswell Ward but at the expense of Copper Ridge, which remains in Hornby. This seems like a strange decision as parts of Wigram are in Halswell but parts of Halswell are not.  Andrei is asking for clarification and plans to appeal this.

Debbie agreed that the motorway was a more logical boundary and shared her personal opinion that maybe we shouldnt have boundaries within the community board ward (Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton) as the board makes collective decisions for the whole area. However discussion also outlined why having smaller boundaries was useful - people feel that they have a direct route to those making the decisions.

Andrei also shared that it was Mens Health Awareness week and they are collecting NEW underwear and socks for men in need. These can be dropped into the Hub during the week (14th - 21st June)

Welcoming Refugees through Community Sponsorship.

At our June meeting we were joined by Nick Regnault from South West Baptist Church who spoke to us about welcoming refugees and their families through the Community Sponsorship Programme.  

Nick has been involved with South West Baptist Church and the pilot scheme welcoming refugees to New Zealand. He explained that New Zealand has an existing refugee programme run by the government in partnership with organisations such as the Red Cross and using volunteers. This Quota programme is government funded and has 1500 places per year. Worldwide, the number of refugees has increase whilst the number of government funded places has decreased

On top of this, are Community Sponsored places. Such a programme has been running successfully in Canada for 40 years.  Under Community Sponsorship, communities may come together to sponsor a family and help them to settle into an area. The aim is to welcome a family to the community and encourage them to settle there by providing practical and social support.

New Zealand ran a pilot programme under the community sponsorship scheme which involved 4 groups across NZ and 25 refugees.  South West Baptist was part of a campaign to make the programme bigger and permanent.  As a result the government have agreed to expand the pilot to more refugees but needs communities to get behind it to make it a success. So far 50 groups have depressed interest in the programme.

“Community Sponsorship complements the quota programme but it is communities that offer the help.” Nick showed a video from the www.kiwiswelcomerefugees.com website which demonstrated the experiences of both refugees and communities involved in the programme.

From a community perspective getting involved means providing practical support at a grassroots level. Things like.....

• Making the family feel welcome

• Helping to find a house and making sure it is furnished/equipped with everything a family will need.

• Helping families to learn English, 

• Help with getting their driver's licence

• Friendships

• Spending time together

• Introducing them to others in the community

• Helping them find groups and activities to take part in

• Helping the children feel welcome at school

SWBC welcomed 3 Middle Eastern families, all with children. All had a fundamental grasp of English which is different to the Quota system. The sponsorship programme is more geared to families who have a high chance of integration.

In order to welcome the families, SWBC set up 3 groups of 7 / 8  volunteers and organised to think about how they could use existing networks, available time etc to create a sense of belonging. They then mapped where the volunteers lived and found houses for the refugee families in that area so that there would be a crossover in the places visited and facilities used. Frequenting the same schools, shops etc created accidental as well as intentional interactions. One example Nick gave was the children being at the same School. A simple “Hi” in the playground or at the gate made the children of the family feel like they belonged.

The networks of the volunteers and community around them enabled them to leverage opportunities for work/employment etc and helped bridge cultural divides/misunderstandings (such as “Bring a plate”). Volunteers invested time that may have been setting aside a time for a coffee or more.

The families sponsored by SWBC felt safe. Even after the terror attack which affected many of them very badly, these families don’t blame NZ and are still grateful they came to NZ.  The programme creates friendships and connections that help people when they go through hard situations.

Going forwards, the government has agreed to fund an additional 150 families over 3 years NZ wide. This is contingent on Kiwis stepping up. Nick and his organisation are inviting communities to form a group and welcome a family.  The first families arrive in NZ in July 2022. This time groups are not on their own, the government is investing in training and will match new groups with those who have done it before to provide support. In addition, in this second round, families get a choice whether they want to engage in the programme or not and there will be an attempt to match families with sponsorship groups and locations

“The only thing that can make a difference to a society is a group of committed citizens” (Margaret Mead)

Questions:

How does a group go about finding a house?

Families don't initially qualify for housing NZ so look at private market, use networks to find available property

What challenges are posed by refugees coming from detention centres?

At this stage this is unknown but presumably will be similar to families coming from a refugee camps. Those families are more likely to have more complex issues and be assigned to the government Quota system.

How can we help change public perception of refugees?

Be a bridge ot help. We start by being the change, modelling it, talking about it. Our action creates the change.

What are refugee expectations of us when they arrive?

The first pilot operated in a vacuum of knowledge. This created some difficulties, eg, refugees not being able to transfer qualifications or skills to the NZ labour market.  The learning that came from this will be applied to the new pilot. Eg asking “here is an opportunity, would you like to take it” and an understanding that ties to family and home may be stronger than the desire to relocate and “lose” that sense of belonging. Refugees will be interviewed as part of the process to ensure that expectations are realistic and all parties understand the process and what they are going to.