Calculation of Maori seat entitlement for Hutt City Council
Chris Milne made this Official Information request to Hutt City Council
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From: Chris Milne
Dear Hutt City Council,
In the agenda papers for the Council meeting on 30 May 2023 reference was made to the formula for the potential number of Maori wards in the city (see (page 126):
12. Sections 19Z and 19ZH of the Act provide that a council may establish a
Māori ward(s). With its current 12 councillors, Hutt City Council could have
one Māori ward councillor. If the number of councillors was increased to 14,
there could be two Māori ward councillors.
Please provide the calculations supporting this paragraph.
In particular, please provide all inputs to the follow statutory formula used for the calculation:
the number of general and Māori ward Councillors is determined by a formula provided in the Local Electoral Act 2001. This formula is as follows:
nmm = mepd ÷ (mepd + gepd) × nm
where—
nmm is the number of Māori ward members
mepd is the Māori electoral population of the district
gepd is the general electoral population of the district
nm is the proposed number of members of the territorial authority (other than the mayor).
Please provide:
- nmm
- mepd
- gepd
Please advise how the mepd is calculated for the HCC and the numbers that went into making the calculation the council used. Note that the definition of mepd is contained in the Electoral Act 1993:
Definition of Maori Electoral Population in the Act:
Māori electoral population means a figure representing both the persons registered as electors of the Māori electoral districts and a proportion of Māori persons who are not registered as electors of any electoral district and a proportion of Māori persons under the age of 18 years, which figure must be fixed—
(a) by ascertaining a proportion determined by dividing—
(i) the total number of persons, on counting day, either—
(A) registered as electors of Māori electoral districts; or
(B) named on the dormant rolls for Māori electoral districts; by
(ii) the total number of Māori persons, on counting day, either—
(A) registered as electors of Māori electoral districts or General electoral districts; or
(B) named on the dormant rolls for Māori electoral districts or General electoral districts; and
(b) by applying the proportion ascertained under paragraph (a) to the total number of ordinarily resident Māori persons on census day.]
Yours faithfully,
Chris Milne
From: Information Requests
Hutt City Council
Tēnā koe Chris
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND MEETINGS ACT 1987: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF REQUEST
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your official information request dated 9 April 2024 for information regarding Maori Wards.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe. If the information is no longer required please let us know, it would be much appreciated.
Please note that our response to your information request, including your name, may be published on Hutt City Council’s website.
Nāku noa, nā
Philip
Philip Rossiter
Senior Advisor | Official Information and Privacy
Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010
P: M: W: www.huttcity.govt.nz
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From: Richard Hardie
Hutt City Council
Kia ora Mr Milne,
Thank you for your question to Hutt City council on the calculation
supporting the formula for the potential number of Māori wards in the
city. I have been asked to respond to your query as the work on elected
member representation sits with the Strategy and Policy team.
As you note, the definitions of general electoral population (GEP) and
Māori electoral population (MEP) are set out in the Electoral Act 1993 for
the purpose of establishing Māori electoral districts for parliamentary
elections. Schedule 1A of the Local Electoral Act 2001 then applies these
statistics for the purpose of defining Māori wards and constituencies in
local government.
Statistics NZ is responsible for determining the GEP and the MEP for each
Māori electoral district for parliamentary elections, and it also
determines these for each territorial authority and regional council in
the country. If you wish to see the specific calculations of the GEP and
MEP for Lower Hutt, you should contact Statistics NZ.
The Local Government Commission (LGC) receives these calculations for
councils and publishes them on its website. Here is a link to the LGC
website setting out the GEP and MEP for each council:
[1]https://www.lgc.govt.nz/our-work/represe...
For Lower Hutt the GEP is 101,300 and the MEP is 12,700. The formula in
clause 2 of Schedule 1A of the Local Electoral Act 2001 is then applied as
follows:
12,700 X 12 = 1.3
(rounded down to give 1 Māori ward Cr.)
12,700 + 101,300
12,700 X 14 = 1.5
(rounded up to give 2 Māori ward Crs.)
12,700 + 101,300
Ngā mihi,
Richard Hardie
Head Of Strategy & Policy
Hutt City Council, 30 Laings Road, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt 5010
P: M: 027 267 4486 W: [2]www.huttcity.govt.nz
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