JANUARY
KOHITATEA 2025
Eastbourne Community Board gets stay of execution The Eastbourne Community Board will remain operational for at least another three years, despite the majority of Hutt City Councillors voting to disband it last year. The vote followed the recommendation of an independent panel, chaired by Paul Swain, which undertook the representation review as part of a six-yearly legislative requirement. The panel’s report questioned the appropriateness of community boards in the current local government context. It highlighted an inability of community boards to improve the Council’s engagement with its city-wide communities of interest; a perceived lack of equity in having community boards in some areas and not others; and the increased mobility and inter-connectedness of residents with other parts of the City since community boards were established in 1989 at the time of amalgamation. In November, councillors voted 8-4 in favour of the recommendations, which also included adjustments to ward boundaries. Ironically, many councillors supporting the removal of community boards had started their political careers on them. At the time, no alternative mechanisms for representation were proposed. After receiving 370 submissions, 72 percent of which opposed axing community boards, the Local Government Commission’s (LGC) decision included retaining the Eastbourne and Wainuiomata community boards. However, the Petone Community Board will be dissolved following October’s local body elections, with the commission finding the area did not contain a sufficiently distinct community or communities of interest.
Belinda Moss, chair of the Eastbourne Community Board, expressed her delight with the decision, attributing it to the community’s extensive written and oral submissions. She also thanked The Eastbourne Herald for keeping residents informed throughout the process. “The review and appeal have involved significant work for the ECB, and we are now looking forward to continuing our role of representing and advocating for Eastbourne residents for the remainder of this term, ending with the October 2025 local body elections,” she said. Mrs Moss encouraged residents interested in local governance to consider standing for election. The LGC last made a determination in relation to Hutt City Council’s representation in 2019. The 2019 determination endorsed HCC’s proposal to retain its three community boards and altered the proposed ward-based representation to a combination of wards and at-large representation. The council’s current representation arrangements have been in place since and comprise a mayor elected at large and 12 councillors. Six councillors are elected by the district as a whole and six are elected from six wards. Under the new structure, seven councillors will be elected from five general wards: • Northern General Ward: Stokes Valley, Taitā, Naenae, Avalon (2 councillors) • Central General Ward: Boulcott, Epuni, Fairfield, Waterloo, Hutt Central, Alicetown, Melling, Woburn, Waiwhetū (2 councillors) • Western General Ward: Manor Park, Belmont Park, Kelson, Belmont, Tirohanga, Normandale, Maungaraki
(1 councillor) Harbour General Ward: Korokoro, Petone, Moerā, Gracefield, Eastern B ay s , E a s t b ou r n e t h rou g h t o Pencarrow (1 councillor) • Wainuiomata General Ward: Arakura, Glendale, Homedale, Pencarrow, Wainuiomata (1 councillor) The Eastern Ward will be removed, and some ward boundaries will be adjusted. Additionally, residents will elect the Mayor, five councillors at large, and one representative for the Māori Ward. Mayor Campbell Barry welcomed the LGC’s decision, emphasising the importance of these changes for the next election. “This new structure is the result of a rigorous process based on best practices, led by an independent panel. The LGC’s determination affirms the validity of this approach, including adjustments in community board representation. I’m confident that the 2025 election will operate under a framework that will best serve our communities,” he said. Mayor Barry also expressed appreciation for those who participated in the Representation Review, as well as the independent panel and past and present community board members. HCC will now focus on finalising engagement strategies to be implemented by the incoming Council after October’s election. LGC recommended that in its next representation review, any proposal for community boards should include alternative mechanisms for representation and advocacy, "not only engagement, and meet the needs of geographically defined communities before their abolition is determined. •