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.