The Local Government Commission will decide how Southland
district ratepayers are represented, following challenges to
the proposal put forward by the Southland District Council.
The council carried out a representational review this year
and proposed the biggest structural change in the authority's
23-year history, cutting the number of wards from 12 to five
and rearranging or abolishing four community boards.
When the proposal was finalised in October, council policy
and planning manager Susan Cuthbert said the reduction in the
number of wards was a ''quite radical change'' and meant
voters could no longer be guaranteed the councillor they
favoured would be from their immediate area.
The change was necessary because legislation said councillors
should represent about the same number of voters, plus or
minus 10%, (with the exception of very remote or island
communities) and Southland's population was not evenly
Ratepayers and residents had until December 12
to appeal and six parties did so, council chief executive
David Adamson said. They were Federated Farmers, Alan Leitch,
John Hogg, the Nightcaps Community Development Area
subcommittee, Edward Blackburn and the Wallace Community
The council would forward the appeals to the Local Government
Commission which would consider the final proposal,
submissions received and information regarding population and
communities of interest, he said.
''The commission will review the representation arrangement
for Southland District on the basis of what is fair and
effective representation and make a decision by April 11 [in
time] for the local government elections in October.''
The commission could ask questions but was not obliged to
hold meetings with the council or anybody who had appealed or
objected, he said.