Consultation opens on the Council’s representation review
A six-week consultation has opened on Waikato District Council’s representation arrangements for the next local body elections, including the shape of the district’s voting Wards and the number of Councillors elected.
The Council is required to review these arrangements at least once every six years to ensure that individuals and communities in our district are fairly represented on and by the Council. Any changes as a result of this review will come into effect for the 2019 elections.
The Council’s proposal recommends retaining 13 councillors elected from 10 wards (plus the Mayor elected at large), but with slightly modified ward boundaries in the north to offer fairer representation in the district’s northern-most Awaroa ki Tuakau Ward where the district’s population has grown.
If adopted, the proposal would see the Mercer ward shifting from the Awaroa ki Tuakau Ward into the Whangamarino Ward so that the wider Mercer community would be entirely located in one ward. It would also see Rangiriri moving from Whangamarino into the Huntly Ward, and a small part of Whangamarino’s southeastern rural community moving into the Hukanui-Waerenga Ward.
In addition, the proposal recommends that the Onewhero-Tuakau Community Board be disestablished and split into a new Tuakau Community Board to cover Tuakau and its immediate surroundings, with a separate Onewhero Community Committee covering the balance of the current community board area that lies south of the Waikato River in the Onewhero-Te Akau Ward.
This means there would still be 30 community board members elected from five community boards, as the proposal recommends simply adding a new community committee (Onewhero) to the community committees that the Council supports across the district.
Submissions can be made online at www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz... where full information about the representation review and proposal is available.
Following consultation on the review, hearings will be held in August before the Council resolves its final proposal for notification on 12 September. A month is then allowed for any appeals or objections before a final determination is made by the Local Government Commission, if required, in April next year.
If anyone would like to discuss this further, please get in touch with me directly.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.6% Yes
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13.9% No
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
What would you do if it was your job to fix Hamilton's CBD?
More alcohol restrictions, more lighting, busking rule changes and a whole lot of lobbying - these are some ways Hamilton leaders want to sort out the CBD.
Crime and anti-social behaviour in the area has been in the spotlight after recent news of a man defecating in the street near a city pub and another who flipped tables out the back of a bar after being found scrounging cigarette butts and asked to leave.
What would you do if it was your job to fix Hamilton's CBD? Tell us your reasons in the comments (adding NFP if you don't want your words used in print).
It’s Riddle Time – You Might Need an Extra Cup of Coffee!
Nobody has ever walked this way. Which way is it?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
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