Banks Peninsula decision on 19 November
Local Government Commission Chairman Grant Kirby, left, and David Bundy, who represents the scheme promoters.
Banks Peninsula voters will get ballot papers in the mail around the end of October for the poll which will decide if their district should become part of Christchurch City.
Voters will have until Saturday, 19 November to send back their voting papers. It is expected that preliminary results will be available on the same day. A simple majority of those who take part in the voting is needed for the scheme to go ahead. There are about 6600 electors involved in the decision.
Banks Peninsula’s status as a separate territorial authority has been under discussion for some time. The latest chapter began in November 2003 when a group of about 1000 peninsula electors put a proposal to the Local Government Commission (LGC).
Since then there have been a number of studies done, draft and final reorganisation schemes have been developed, and the public and interested organisations have had opportunities to have their opinions considered. Christchurch City Council is in favour of the scheme.
If the 19 November poll results in a majority in favour, the LGC has said the peninsula’s representation would consist of a single City Councillor and two community boards – representing the Lyttelton/Mount Herbert area and the Akaroa/Waiwera area. Each community board would have five elected members.
Again, if the poll gives the scheme the thumbs-up, peninsula people would elect their new community boards and councillor in a second poll which would close on Saturday, 25 February 2006.
The district would become part of Christchurch when the result of that election was officially declared, probably within a few days.
“The final decision on the abolition of Banks Peninsula District and its inclusion in Christchurch City now rests with the electors of the Banks Peninsula District”, said LGC chairman Grant Kirby when he released the final scheme in Lyttelton last month.
“The commission wishes the electors of Banks Peninsula District well in their consideration of this final scheme, as the time approaches when they will be called on to determine its outcome,” he said.
David Bundy, the Allandale man who represents the proposers’ group, is pleased that the peninsula communities are now able to decide their future.
“We hope that all peninsula electors will take part in the poll so there’s a good indication of majority opinion,” he says. “It’s important for people living in Christchurch who own property on the peninsula to make sure they’re able to vote. To take part they have to register with the Banks Peninsula District Council as a nonresidential elector.”
* Copies of the final reorganisation scheme, an explanatory statement and the background documents are on the LGC’s www.lgc.govt.nz website. The documents may also be inspected at the main offices of the Banks Peninsula District and Christchurch City councils
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