CommunityAction for People and Planet. P.O. Box 68, Motueka. Phone (03) 526 8014 / 021 174 0400 email : duncaneddy@yahoo.com
Community boards in jeopardy
Nelson Mail, 25 August 2006, By Sally KidsonGolden Bay and Motueka could lose their community boards after the Tasman District Council decided not to include them in its final representation plan.
The council voted eight to six to dispose of its two community boards at an often fiery meeting in Richmond on Thursday.
A majority of councillors made the decision because they thought Motueka and Golden Bay would be over-represented compared with other areas of the district, although Crs Eileen Wilkins, Pat O'Shea, Richard Kempthorne, Noel Riley, Stuart Borlase and Elaine Henry voted to retain the boards.
The decision is a reversal of the council's June decision to "make a stand" and fight to keep its current electoral format, which attracted nearly 700 supporting submissions.
The council now risks having a representation format decided for it by the Electoral Commission, as "devastated" Golden Bay and Motueka community board representatives have already signalled they intend lodging appeals.
The decision will be publicly notified and anyone can make an appeal, which will be considered by the Electoral Commission.
Council administration officer Sandra Hartley said she had already received 70 letters from Lakes-Murchison residents, upset at a decision the council made earlier this month to cut the number of councillors in their ward from two to one, while increasing the number of councillors in Richmond from three to four.
Under the 2001 Electoral Act the council must review its electoral format every two elections to ensure it fits with the legal guidelines of having one councillor for every 3527 people, plus or minus 10 percent.
Yesterday's decision has deeply disappointed councillors and residents from Golden Bay and Motueka.
Speaking outside the meeting, Golden Bay community board deputy chairwoman Carolyn McLellan said she felt "let down" by the move, which she said was a direct result of the decision to reduce representation in the Lakes-Murchison ward to just one councillor.
She expected a lot of Golden Bay residents would lodge appeals with the commission to retain their community board.