It always seemed odd that Raglan is in the Taranaki King Country General Electorate area. Changes proposed by the Electoral Commission after the recent census seem destined to lock in this odd arrangement for a further period. The proposed changes move the boundary north to include Te Akau and Waingaro.
You can have your say about the proposed changes online now: Click here
Raglan community watchdog John Lawson says, “The Electoral Commission is proposing to extend Taranaki King Country electorate to include the whole of Whaingaroa to Te Akau and the edge of Ngaruawahia. A map is at http://www.elections.org.nz/voters/find-my-electorate. It will cover the areas of three regional councils and nine local councils and extend from Te Akau to Stratford, a journey of 315km, taking almost 4 hours.”
John points out that the official report says “The Taranaki-King Country electorate comprises the communities of Te Awamutu, Otorohanga, Te Kūiti, Ohura and Inglewood”. This seems to indicate a lack of study of the communities in the proposed electorate. The 2013 census shows Ohura having a population of 129, one of the smaller census areas in the constituency. The proposed Taranaki King Country contains many much larger communities such as Raglan (2,736), Whatawhata (2,475) and Te Kowhai (1,509). It also covers the areas of 3 regional councils and 9 local councils and extends from Te Akau to Stratford, a journey of 315km, taking almost 4 hours.
The proposed electorate is estimated to be 2,062 under the 59,731 quota and the population is predicted to fall by 7% below the quota by 2017. Therefore the proposed constituency fails to meet all the criteria – Community of interest, Facilities of communications, Topographical features and Projected variations in electoral populations over the next five years.
We rarely see our MP now and these changes would see him having to cover a greater area. In future we are likely to see him even less if these changes go ahead. It would surely make more sense to add a new electorate around Hamilton so the western Waikato area could be included in it.
HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE PROPOSED BOUNDARIES
Anyone can make an objection to the proposed electorate names and boundaries.
Objections to the proposed electorate names and boundaries can be made online or in writing to the Representation Commission. Objections close at 10am, Monday 23 December 2013.
You can make your submission online now: Click here