Ngā pātai kārangaranga | FAQs

Under the Bill, if a council does not reverse its decision to establish Māori ward then the ward(s) would still be in effect at the 2025 local elections, and be in place up until the 2028 local elections. If the 2025 poll result is in favour of Māori wards, these would remain in place for the 2028 and 2031 local elections. If the poll result is against Māori wards, then the Māori ward(s) would be disestablished for the 2028 and 2031 local elections.

No, the results of any by-election this term only apply until the 2025 local elections. Under the changes in the Bill a council’s decision to disestablish Māori wards would only apply from the 2025 local elections. Any polls that are held would not take effect until the 2028 triennial local elections. Therefore, the changes in the Bill would not affect Māori ward/constituency positions in the current term.

The disestablish/rescind mechanism is now in affect. 

Councils may wish to undertake preparatory work such as developing potential options that could be used as part of a representation review under the new legislation. The Local Government Commission and Statistics New Zealand are preparing to support councils with any early preparatory work. 

No, it is not proposed that the Bill will make changes to any other options councils have for facilitating Māori participation or representation.

While the Special Consultative Procedure doesn’t apply, councils may undertake engagement with their communities in any way they see fit, bearing in mind that there will only be a short period of time available for councils to consider reversing their earlier Māori wards decisions.

The Department of Internal Affairs recommend councils seek legal advice when considering the options available to them.

There are no plans for these rules to be changed in the upcoming Bill. The formula to determine the number of members to be elected to Māori wards will remain the same as it is currently in the Local Electoral Act 2001. The rules in the Local Electoral Act relating to fair representation1 (referred to as the ‘+/-10% rule’) are not proposed to change.

Yes. For a Māori wards binding poll whichever option receives over 50% of voters’ support will be the outcome.

Under the Bill, 45 councils will be required to hold a poll at the 2025 local elections (or before the 2028 local elections in the case of Tauranga City Council). However, these councils would not be required to hold a poll if they resolve to disestablish current Māori wards or rescind their resolution to establish Māori wards.

The ability for 5% of a council’s electors to petition their councils to hold a binding poll would take effect after the 2025 local elections. However, for particular councils, if they are required to hold a poll on Māori wards at the 2025 local elections, the results of that poll would be binding and cannot be petitioned against for the next two terms.

A council in this situation could choose to hold a non-binding poll to determine the level of community support for Māori wards under the provisions in the Local Electoral Act 2001. However, it the Bill will require that any decision to rescind or disestablish Māori wards will apply to the 2025 local elections. 

Yes, under the Bill the results from polls held at the 2025 local elections would not take effect until after the 2028 elections. If the poll result was in favour of Māori wards, the Māori ward would remain in place for at least the next two electoral terms (2028-2031 and 2021-2034). If the poll was not in favour of Māori wards, the Māori wards would need to be removed for the 2028 elections.

No this is not an option that is in the Bill. Under the proposed Bill a council may make a decision to rescind or disestablish its Māori wards this term, or otherwise would be required to hold a binding poll at the 2025 local elections. Any changes to representation arrangements as a result of polls would then be implemented through the representation review process in the 2025-28 term.

Under the Bill this would not be an available option. The Government enacted this Bill at the end of July 2024. This means very limited time for councils to hold a poll on Māori wards, and to carry out a representation review, before the pre-election processes start in April 2025. Polls take around three months to complete, following the requirements of the Local Electoral Act 2001. To enable polls to take place in 2024, and to take effect for the 2025 elections, would have significantly compromised the representation review process.

If a binding poll at the 2025 local elections results in a council being able to maintain/ establish Māori wards, then this would be in place for the next two electoral terms. A representation review process would be required if the result of the poll changes the council’s representation arrangements.

Under the Bill, 44 affected councils may need to carry out a shortened representation review process if they resolve to reverse a previous decision to establish Māori wards. Councils that resolve to reverse their previous decision may have alternative options to a representation review (i.e. continuing, or reverting back to, pre-Māori wards arrangements) but these options are still under development. If the council undertakes a shortened representation review process it is proposed that this must be completed before the 2025 local elections. 

Councils which resolved this term to establish Māori wards, and do not take the proposed option under the Bill to reverse that decision, would also need to complete their representation review process this year to establish Māori wards for the 2025 local elections. 

Under the Bill, any councils that hold a poll at the 2025 local elections will be required to complete a representation review before the 2028 local elections if the poll goes against Māori wards, or if it has been six years since their last representation review.

Under the Bill the shortened representation process would involve completing all stages of the standard representation review process in a reduced timeframe. This is still under development. It is proposed that all Local Government Commission determinations will still need to be completed by 11 April 2025.

The Bill will allow councils to proceed with their current representation reviews if they are not choosing to reverse their previous Māori wards decisions and will hold a poll at the 2025 elections. Councils that do wish to reverse their Māori wards decisions will not be able to make resolutions to this effect unless and until the Bill has been enacted. However, council officers could begin work on alternate representation review scenarios.

Under the Bill the shortened representation review process would involve all parts of the usual representation review process, including any community board decisions.

For the 2025 local elections: 

• the last date for residential electors to be included on the printed roll will be 18 June
• the nomination period will be from (approx.) 7 July-1 August
• the voting period will open on 9 September 2025 • voting papers will be delivered from 9 to 22 September 2025
• voting will close at 12pm on 11 October 2025, retaining the statutory date for close of voting as every second Saturday in October. There’s a possibility some of these dates may still be adjusted slightly.