Before discussing the workings and functions of local government, it is necessary to arrive at a working definition. According to local government’s enabling legislation, local government is an entity designed to be:

“…democratic and effective…..that recognises the diversity of New Zealand communities…” [1]

One potential way for local government to recognise the diversity of New Zealand communities is to ensure that its elected officials are suitably diverse and representative of the communities they were elected to serve.

Regional and local government is not the same as central government. According to the Local Government Commission, local authorities can be defined as:

“A local authority having jurisdiction over a region. Its main functions are related to

environmental and resource management”[2].

This demonstrates where a local authority’s main area of focus could be conceived as being, and the importance of representation in the matters an authority deals with on a regular basis.

The changes proposed to local government in the Auckland region largely involve transforming the eight current local authorities’ current geographic areas into one unitary regional authority.

Those eligible to vote in local authority elections such as the ones being discussed in this paper include those normally resident in the area and enrolled for electoral purposes; as well as property owners (ratepayers) who are not normally resident in the area.

This is in line with section 24 (1) (a) of the Local Electoral Act 2001 which provides for ratepayers to have representation on the authority they pay rates to on their property[3].

For the Homepage, click here.

For Risks & Opportunities At A Glance, click here.

For information on ‘technical issues’, such as definitions, click here.

For information related to Māori representation as a public policy issue, click here.

For more information about Māori representation and Auckland specifically, click here.

For information related to opportunities created by dedicated Māori representation, click here.

For information related to the risks created by dedicated Māori representation, click here.

For other methods of indigenous minority representation, click here.