Before last night’s WCB meeting, the KCDC’s ‘Democracy Services Manager’ gave a presentation on the Council seats and boundaries, and likewise for the Community Boards.  There is a legal obligation to review these periodically.

The major obvious discrepancy is the differences in the boundaries for the Council Seat Wards and the Community Boards.  The latter are determined by ‘community belongingness’ while the former are based on these, but manipulated so that the population per elected member does not differ by more than 10% (above or below) from the average for the whole district.

In the case of Waikanae this means that Peka Peka and Reikorangi are in the WCB area, but in the Otaki Ward for the Council.  Most peculiarly, this also applies to the northern part of Huia Street in Waikanae.

The other issue is whether councilors should be elected on a district wide basis, a Ward basis or a mix of the two — the last being the present situation.  Our view is that it would be better for all councilors to be elected on a Ward basis.  All councilors are required to swear an oath that they will serve the best interests of the whole district.