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Residents of new subdivisions such as Ara Hills and Milldale should be asked whether they want to be part of the Hibiscus and Bays or Rodney Local Boards, so that local boards incorporate communities with shared interests and facilities.
That is the view of the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, which recently gave its feedback to Auckland Council on its current review of how local board subdivisions are weighted by population and communities of interest (called the representation review).
The council is required to regularly review representation, and this one must be in time for the 2025 local body elections. It looks at the number of councillors and local board members, as well as ward and local board boundaries.
Both Ara Hills and Milldale are currently governed by the Rodney Local Board, but Hibiscus and Bays members consider that residents of those areas could be more likely to attend Coast schools, shop on the Coast and use council facilities such as the Stanmore Bay Pool and Leisure Centre and local libraries.
It has been advocating for changes to the boundaries to incorporate areas with shared facilities and interests, but those pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.
Local boards receive revenue from council based on the population within their borders. However, member Jake Law, who prepared the feedback for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, says its feedback was more about pointing out that some communities outside its boundaries, including Ara Hills and potentially Milldale, may share common interests and consider themselves Hibiscus Coast residents.
“We advocated for the Governing Body to consult with Ara Hills about how those residents feel on the issue, but that request was not included in the public consultation that went out recently,” Law says. “I’m not sure why that happened.”
He says the local board is following up by seeking a Local Government Commission review, which looks in depth at how communities are represented, and consults with the communities themselves.
“We want to know what those communities think, and for them to have a say on whether they feel anchored by Rodney or the Hibiscus Coast,” Law says.
Whether or not that Local Government Commission review happens, rests with the Governing Body.
“Council is focused on the population numbers represented by local boards, but that can end up cutting communities with the same interests in half,” Law says. “We feel that communities with shared interests are more important than population alone and that council should consider whether it allows its representatives to vary in the numbers they represent in order to keep those communities together.”
The representation review’s Joint Governance Working Party will hear submissions on the issue, including local board feedback, for a decision by the Governing Body on September 26.
