File ref: IRC-3709
07 September 2022
Greg Jordan
Via FYI website
Kia ora Greg
Correspondence regarding election signage
Thank you for your request made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings
Act 1987 (the Act), received on 07 August 2022. You requested the fol owing information:
1. Any correspondence sent by WCC (including by ElectioNZ, the returning officer) to candidates in
the 2022 election regarding those candidates' election signs.
2. Any replies received, including the letter sent by Aaron Lloyd on behalf of Paul Eagle.
3. A list of any enforcement action that has been taken by WCC, under bylaws, the district plan, or
otherwise, relating to 2022 local election signs located on private property
Wellington City Council has granted your request for information.
1. Any correspondence sent by WCC (including by ElectioNZ, the returning officer) to candidates in
the 2022 election regarding those candidates' election signs.
We have previously released information relating to election signage on our website: irc-billboard-
responses.pdf (wel ington.govt.nz)
The only additional correspondence outside of this is the attached email chain between Electoral
Officer Warwick Lampp and candidate Tory Whanau.
All candidates receive an approval email when applying for permission to use signage sites. An
example of this is attached below.
2. Any replies received, including the letter sent by Aaron Lloyd on behalf of Paul Eagle.
This is included in the previously released information on our website here: irc-billboard-
responses.pdf (wel ington.govt.nz)
3. A list of any enforcement action that has been taken by WCC, under bylaws, the district plan,
or otherwise, relating to 2022 local election signs located on private property
No enforcement action has been taken by WCC regarding the 2022 local election signs.

The District Plan has no specific requirements about the date that election signs may be erected.
There are other requirements in the district plan regarding sign size and location. These
requirements have been complied with, so there was no need for enforcement.

Under the WCC Policy on Election Hoardings, signs should not be put up more than six weeks prior
to the day of final voting. The intention of the policy is to create a level playing field for al
candidates, however the Council does not have any legal means to enforce the policy.

Below are the documents that fall in scope of your request and my decision to release the
document. Any redactions made are for privacy reasons.
  Item  Document name/description
Decision
1.
Example of approval email
Release
2.
Emails between Warwick Lampp and Tory Whanau
Release

Right of review
If you are not satisfied with the Council’s response, you may request the Office of the Ombudsman
to investigate the Council’s decision. Further information is available on the Ombudsman website,
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

Please note, we may proactively release our response to your request.

Thank you again for your request, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Kind regards

Claudia Holgate
Senior Advisor, Official Information

Wellington City Council   | 2 of 4

Item One: Example of approval email
Kia ora [Name]
Thank you for taking the time to apply for permission to use Wellington City Council’s approved signage
sites for your election advertising.
Your below sign application has been approved, subject to below/attached rules and conditions
Please read through this information carefully prior to putting up signage, as this will save everyone
precious time in the long run.
ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL
1. XXXX Ward signage sites guide, showing where exactly your signage may be placed
2. Formal letter of approval, granting you permission to place election signage on Council land for
the 2022 Local Elections
3. Copy of your submitted application information (for reference)
Also please read, page 28 of the Candidate Handbook: Candidate-Handbook-2022
It is also recommended that you read Council’s Guidelines for Temporary Signs in Public Places.
KEY REMINDERS
o If there is insufficient room at a site to place your signage within the al owed boundary, please
skip that site and do not put a sign there.
 Placing a sign outside the approved boundary or blocking another sign are not adequate
solutions and will not be permitted. Please exercise reasonable judgement and concede
when a site is too full.
o Council reserves the right to request that your signage be moved (e.g., because of safety concerns;
because of signage placed at incorrect part of site, etc.) within a given time frame; if action is not
taken within the provided time frame, Council may remove/seize the signage.
o Signage (or any part thereof) may not come higher than 3 m off the ground.
o Single-sided signs may not exceed 3 m2 in area.
o Double-sided signs may not exceed 1.5 m2 in area.
o No signage materials whatsoever may be placed on these signage sites prior Saturday 27th August.
 If any stakes or signage materials are found to have been placed on public land prior to this
start time, then these materials/signs could be removed or seized by Council.
o Applicants/candidates may have maximum one sign per site.
o Multi-face signs are considered to be multiple signs and therefore are not permitted.
Here is an example of a multi-face sign (non-compliant):
Wellington City Council | 3 of 4

o It is the responsibility of those instal ing signs to ensure that underground services are avoided
when installing stakes or signage materials. We recommend using beforeUdig as a safety
precaution to ensure that signage stays clear of any underground features.
o All signage and materials are required to be removed by, 11:59 pm Friday 7th October 2022.
NOTE
Some sites may be getting marked out, due to trying to resolve problems that have occurred in the
past.
Should you have any questions or concerns about the attached, the above, or anything at al , please don’t
hesitate to get in touch with me. Alternatively, you can contact [email address].
Wellington City Council | 4 of 4

Item Two
From:
Tory Whanau
To:
Warwick Lampp
Cc:
Jennifer Parker
Subject:
Re: Election signage
Date:
Tuesday, 2 August 2022 9:38:05 pm
Kia ora Warwick
I very much appreciate the advice you've given below.
In this instance, after speaking to the provider and acknowledging another candidate's
approach to this, I will very politely decline your request and will continue advertising.
Please do let me know if you have any further concerns.
Nga mihi
Tory
On Tue, Aug 2, 2022 at 1:21 PM Warwick Lampp <[email address]> wrote:
Kia ora Tory
Thank you for getting in touch, and thanks for the phone discussion just now.
As you will be aware, under the Wellington City Council Policy on Election Hoardings
(which is appended to the Guidelines for temporary signs in public places), election
signs should not be put up more than six weeks prior to the final day of voting. For this
election this is before Saturday 27 August.
The intention behind the policy is to create a level playing field for all candidates and to
prevent residents from being saturated with election advertising outside the election
period.
I acknowledge that in this case it was not your intent to have the signs go up outside of
the period. However, I do request that all candidates comply with the policy, and so
request that you take the signs down please.
The Council does not have legal means to enforce the policy, and so any decision to do
so would ultimately rest with you.
I hope that helps, and please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any more
questions.

Nga mihi
Warwick

Warwick Lampp  |  Chief Returning Officer – Business Development Manager / Āpiha Pōti Matua |
electionz.com Ltd
Unit 3, 3 Pukaki Rd, Christchurch Airport  |  PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140
Waea Pūkoro M
Waea Mahi P +64 3 377 3530
īmēra E [email address]  |  Paetukutuku W  www.electionz.com

From: Tory Whanau <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 August 2022 8:19 AM
To: Warwick Lampp <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Election signage

Much appreciated
Sent from my iPhone
On 2/08/2022, at 8:17 AM, Warwick Lampp <[email address]>
wrote:
Hi  Tory
I’m working on this, I’ll have a response to you later today.
W

Warwick Lampp  |  Chief Returning Officer – Business Development Manager / Āpiha Pōti
Matua |  electionz.com Ltd
Unit 3, 3 Pukaki Rd, Christchurch Airport  |  PO Box 3138, Christchurch 8140
Waea Pūkoro M
Waea Mahi P +64 3 377 3530
īmēra E [email address]  |  Paetukutuku W  www.electionz.com

Sent: Monday, 1 August 2022 9:08 AM
To: Warwick Lampp <[email address]>
Subject: Election signage

Kia ora Warwick

Phantom Billstickers have put my posters up earlier than I had planned
(today). They're all on commercial sites that they pay for. I'm a little
worried about this. Can you please confirm if this is a breach?

Thanks
Tory Whanau
Candidate for Wellington Mayor

Twitter I Facebook I Instagram I TikTok @misswhanau

Document Outline