Rep Review Pre-Engagement Summary
Total Responses 167 Average time to complete About 9 minutes First Response Mon 12 April 2021, 7:12 PM Last Response Fri 30 April 2021, 2:30 PM To start off with, could we get a few details from you -
Do you feel that you are effectively represented? Question 1A Each elected member should represent a similar number of people, which, for Kaipara District’s existing ward structure, is about 3000 people per councillor. See similar sized council infromation here.
Number of responses to this question 155 (93%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Yes, I am effectively represented 14 9 On the whole I think I am effectively represented 40 26 I don't think I am always effectively represented 45 29 I am not effectively represented 48 31 I don't know 8 5
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Question 1B Which ward do you live in?
Number of responses to this question 155 (93%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Dargaville 33 21 West Coast-Central 30 19 Otamatea 30 19 Kaiwaka-Mangawhai 56 36 Outside of Kaipara District 6 4
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Question 1C What areas do you regulary visit e.g. for school, shopping, sport, recreation or work?
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Number of responses to this question 159 (95%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Aranga 10 6 Arapohue 13 8 Ararua 1 1 Baylys Beach 42 26 Dargaville 74 47 Glinks Gullys 23 14 Hakaru 15 9 Hoanga 8 5 Kaihu 17 11 Kaiwaka 44 28 Mamaranui 11 7 Mangawhai Heads 64 40 Mangawhai 74 47 Matakohe 17 11 Maungaturoto 52 33 Omamari 13 8 Oneriri Peninsula 6 4 Oruawharo 4 3 Pahi 21 13 Paparoa 32 20 Pouto 16 10 Ruawai 27 17 Taipuha 2 1 Tangiteroria 9 6 Tangowahine 9 6 Te Kopuru 22 14 Tinopai 11 7
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Answer Count %
Tokatoka 16 10 Topuni 3 2 Turiwiri 8 5 Waiotira 3 2 Whakapirau 13 8
Elected representatives
Question 1D Do you know who your ward councillors are?
Number of responses to this question 159 (95%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Yes 99 62 No 60 38
Question 1E Do you have contact with your ward councillor/s?
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Number of responses to this question 160 (96%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Yes, often 13 8 Occasionally 38 24 Rarely 37 23 No, never 72 45
How do you think we should be represented on the Council?
Do you think we should have more or fewer councillors, or have we got it about Question right? 1F Currently there are 8 councillors plus a Mayor. Councillors are paid from a single fund for their salaries. This is set by the Remuneration Authority. You can see the current salaries here.
Number of responses to this question 149 (89%)
Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
More 33 22 About right 86 58 Fewer 15 10 Unsure 15 10
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Question How many councillors do you think is a good number to ensure fair and effective 1G representation?
Number of responses to this question 151 (90%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
5 8 5 6 12 8 7 11 7 8 67 44 9 18 12 10 35 23
What structure do you prefer for electing councillors? Question Note – the current system provides for each of the four wards to be represented by its 1H own councillors. Alternative systems are district-wide (across all of Kaipara regardless of where people live) or a mixture of the two (wards and at-large).
Number of responses to this question 149 (89%)
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Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
Ward Based 98 66 Elected at Large 20 13 Mix of the two (wards and at large) 31 21
Ward Boundaries
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Question 1I Do the current wards and boundaries make sense?
Answer
Yes No! Why does Dargaville get 2 extra councillors when it is smaller than current Mangawhai! Mangawhai contributed to the majority of the rates compared to Dargaville. Mangawhai should be 2 wards. The Dargaville Ward should be removed. On the whole Mangawhai and Kaiwaka should be in Auckland or Rodney and not part of Kaipara. NoShould be one Not too bad if you must have wards
More sense than the question No. We need community based wards. yes covers most peoples area of influence Yes No, nor does the question. For goodness sake!!!!! No Dargaville is seriously over represented. Time to do away with that ward. no Yes Yes No Yes Assuming the boundaries reflect census data. If Mangawhai is much larger, it may be time to move a councillor east Not really. Mangawhai has the highest growth and and population and yet just 2 representatives. I believe the representation should more reflect population distribution, at least 1 more councillor for this area. Should have left Kaiwaka and Mangawhai in with rest of Otamatea. Feel quite disconnected from them now. yes First off spell check your surveys. *Does not Doe!! Secondly check grammar. The above sentence makes absolutely no sense!
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Answer
Yes Yes though I think that Kaiwaka-Mangawhai (old OtamateaCounty) is overly represented while the old Hobson County is under represented - therefore there would be a joint extra councillor for West Coast-Central/Dargaville should get one more councillor. No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes I do the west coast central ward should have at least three representatives due to it size .As there is no way that two people can represent that many people. Yes I think the Dargaville ward is over represented when compared with rapidly growing areas such as Mangawhai No they should be population based yes yes No. Yes but it makes sense to combine it all..we are only a small district, seems to me it would be more efficient and all wards would have access to better/ more qualified people. no West Coast-Central ward is to large, this should be split somehow, and how 2 councillors (or 2 and 1) for the 2 wards created. Could the Dargaville ward also be expanded? There is a large imbalance much when Otamatea had its own council YES Yes - West Coast - Central Ward is is a large area. Yes Yes, they are manageable and are representative of the population. However probably 2 wards would be sufficient No. Based on the number of rate payers at each ward it doesn't seem that Kaiwaka Mangawhai feels under represented
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Answer
Yes Yes yes No Yes its a good split No. Mangawhai is one of the fastest growing communities on North Island,yet we are underrepresented and ignored in Council. Not entirely. Representation of Dargaville and Mangawhai should be separate from the surrounding rural areas. yes No I would like to see Manawhai/Kaiwaka placed in Auckland ward as I believe Kaipara is a too big of ward , this would allow councillors to better serve us and not put up with the shit some of their residents cause. No no yes think that suit communities of interest quite well Yes, Perfect sense although if the CML project goes as planned (?) then there will need to be a review of the number of councillors. Although it would be difficult to justify additional councillors, The current ones will just have to work harder! No. Mangawhai should probably have more councillors No, should be based on population Yes No yes yes No Generally yes Sort of. I assume it is population based. Yes. No, Do not reflect ratepayer numbers, common interests or future growth projections If based on the old county council boundaries yes. Unsure as to why Dargaville should have two representatives?
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Answer
No No yes Yes Yes No. They should be similar area rather than population based. Split the West Coast-Central into two wards. West Coast North and West Coast South. Or add two Maori seats (Maori west and Maori East) The Maori West seat can assist the West Coast- Central Councillors effectively giving that section 3 representatives and Tangata whenua a voice for the west coast. A Tangata whenua voice for the East is also needed and will provide added assistance for the Otamatea, Kaiwaka - Mangawhai councillors. yes If based on population density of rate payers per ward being pretty much the same in each ward, then yes. If based upon geographical locations of business centers, then no. I firmly believe 3 of our wards should merge with Whangarei District and the 4th Ward: Mangawhai and Kaiwaka ward merge with Akld. No. The population growth in mangawhai area is not being duplicated at council level. It should also take into account owners who live outside of area as they are also affected Not at all. It was pushed through on out of date Census because the most recent census figures were not available. The +/- 10% (I think this was the number) was biased against Otamatea (i.e. Mangawhai) resulting in "us" being under-represented, and this aggravated even more because of the out of date Census. Interestingly since then Council seems to accept that Mangawhai is by far the quickest growing part of the District. Conversely Dargaville and others were in the -10%. By now the discrepancy is more likely +/- 20% and it appears that most of the "western" Mayor and Councillors are acting quite contrary to the interests of the Mangawhai community. No,for Mangawhai Dargaville is too far way. Cut Mangawhai from Kaiiwaka to Wellsford and Mangawhai Boundaries are fine but representation should be based on ward population Yes No. Therrrrrrrrreeeeee No, I don't believe Mangawhai should be counted in the Kaipara Wards. Need to see population in each ward to see if the boundaries make sense. Should there be 3 wards of equal size/population/no of councillors - or should there be a different split? Boundaries should reflect communities of interest - if there aren't common communitieis of interest then areas shouldn't be forced together Yes
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Answer yep. Not really. Ruawai is more closely aligned with Dargaville. The remainder is more closely related to Mangawhai. Yes Dargaville looks large compared to the others. Probably could do with an additional counselor. yes Dargaville is a large area with only 2 councilors this doesn't seem balanced. 4 would be a better balance Yes Dargaville ward does not make sense - why are there two councillors for there? Yes, No, the Wards do not make sense. Suggest Dargaville and West Coast combine and Kaiwaka- Mangawhai and Otamatea combine to become two wards. no longer Yes No. Most of the rates come from Mangawhai but we do not have enough representation. More population here than in Dargaville yet they dominate. Mangawhai Kaiwaka seem under represented Yes But your map should show the whole of Te Taitokerau but code the other areas not in our wards a different colour to help people understand the demographics yes Yes yes They have been in this manner fir some time Yes Yes yes Yes they are ok , i would like to know the populations of each ward, and maybe the amount of rates, or income that these wards generate. Yes but the council in Mangawhai don't listen to what the people the people want anyway. Like the wharf at the pub which would bring a marine santuary to the area, it existed there before and
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Answer the Mangawhai Central Fairy Terns are not effected by the wharf yet Mangawhai Central will with use of land, pollution and more human population and more rodent population. Question by is the wharf then stopped due to Fairy Tern and Mangawhai Central is not? The wages of the councillors is a joke because how many backhanders are going on? how many businesses' profiting from central do they have their fingers in or friends with fingers in the pie. It the sewage works 'legal' profiting all over again. The council is a like a legal drug ring with a major as the leader the councillors and then the others doing the dirty work. yes Yes yes Yes, but the Central-West Coast is a large geographical ward, with a dispersed population. I am unsure what the remedy is, maybe enlarge the Dargaville area?? No, there is no good reason not to have a separate ward for Mangawhai. It makes no sense to have a ward stretching from the East coast across to the Kaipara shore. They are very different areas and the interests of the residents substantially divergent. no Yes No, there needs to be a re-think with the current and projected population growth in Mangawhai Yes No. It should be population based Yes Mangawhai and Mangawhai heads should be its own ward with Kaiwaka being included into Maungaturoto as a central ward given the population growth in Mangawhai and their own issues. yes yes Not sure .. do they relate to the number of rate payers in each boundary???? Yes for the Ward option. Yes. Although I think West Coast Central Ward is a big ward. Should be spilt or have more councillors. yes No Yes Yes
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Answer yes if population based No. Dargaville is on the West Coast why do we serve the East Coast at Mangawhai? Mangawhai should be in the Auckland Region. Yes The current wards and representatives don't reflect the massive population changes that have occurred even prior to the last representation review. The difference in population/councillor numbers across Kaipara has become ridiculously out of kilter. Yes I think the current wards and boundaries are reasonable and make sense No, look at the size of the west coastward! Is the council considering a Maori ward representative? Yes, however Oruawharo seems to miss out on funding for roading quite alot. It is my understanding that the forestry owners pay substantial amounts to council but this never seems to be reflected in road maintenance on our roads. Yes they do, but with the growth in areas like Otamatea, and Mangawhai ,it is only a matter of time that reviewing such will be necessary. Yes Yes Not at all. The majority of rate payers live in Mangawhai Kaiwaka area and are vastly under represented. Our voices go unheard but our rates support the whole area.
Number of responses to this question 146 (87%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Question 1J What do you like or dislike about the current ward boundaries?
Answer
Mangawhai contributes the majority of the rates for Kaipara and has the minority of the say. This is not right. Mangawhai's current population now would be much much larger than Dargaville and there fore should have its own second ward. On he whole. Huge area with low population Mangawhai and Kaiwaka being in Kaipara To many getting paid to do not much
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Answer
My community of interest is not defined geographically for most issues. Local issues can be advocated by local representatives They are not fair representation. suits what and where we shop and go N/A Mangawhai is seriously unrepresented. Dislike Dargaville ward not at all justified. I thought I was in Dargaville ward Im not Im in West coast central It dosnt make sense The only thing I would change is we should be represented by OWNERS of property and renters, not by just those residing here I can’t understand why we still have mangawhai as part of kaipara district. They are much more urban with different needs. Should move to Auckland or Whangarei districts. Maybe times have changed it’s heavy in dargaville west coast area compared with population Too much power to dargaville The fact Dargaville has 2 representatives for such a small area and proportion of population. I don't know enough about what happens out of our ward as don't get to see other councillors any more. i think they are ok No representation The central west coast ward is too big That Kaiwaka-Mangawhai (old OtamateaCounty) is overly represented while the old Hobson County is under represented. When looking at the west coast central area which is huge in size and also must pay a high percentage of rates per person, is this fair? They seem adequate It’s about the right areas for the amount of people who live there I do not think that the majority of the people are represented fairly. No problem They tend to be historical especially the Dargaville ward and not bases on current growth. Angahwai - Kaiwaka is far and away the biggest by population and will have more growth over the next 6 years.
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The east coast doesn't belong in the Kaipara district. n/a I do not think Mangawhai and Kaiwaka should be included in our ward boundaries. We need to work as one district should be population based Dargaville centric The West Coast - Central ward is a large ward! Maybe it could be divide into two wards - West Coast as #1 and with Central being #2 2 wards would be sufficient No representative of rate payer numbers / developments / future growth areas Under-representation of Mangawhai They're OK boundaries seem fair Don't like boundaries NA I dislike that the boundaries have been gerrymandered to disempower Mangawhai. We are ignored and the Mayor and Council are out of touch with what people in our community need and care about. Mixing representation of the two larger towns with the rural areas as they have different needs. AS above comment get rid of Mangawhai. The west coast-central far to large for just two councillors. Getting very worried about the Kaiwaka - Mangawhai ward and what is happening there and how it may start dictating to the Kaipara area in general. A massive difference in KDC spending there compared to the rest of Kaipara. i.e. West Coast -Central. Mangawhai & Mangawhai Heads will pays the most rates. We are isolated from the other wards, generally no one travels to the other wards regularly and visa versa. n/a The current ward boundaries are fine..at the moment It seems that Otamatea (my ward) is well represented and the councillors are easily reachable. Mangawhai should have it’s own ward like Dargaville West coast ward has biggest area and only two Councillors Needs to be more population based
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Answer
Seems to work The boundaries look reasonable, but the number of councilors per ward needs to be based on a population basis. Dislike big variation between Kaiwaka Maungawhai and other wards. Enormous differences in many aspects don't fit well together with other wards. No comment. Nothing. There are more important matters for council to do that worry about this, such as maintaining the present infrastructure. Relies on outdated figures especially census numbers eg recent council funded survey states 41% of Mangawhai District Houses are unused for large part of year and so not included in representation considerations. All ratepayers should be be automatically put on roll on an opt out basis. Dargaville is disproportionate to the rest of the district. There needs to be recognition of out of area owners of property in all wards. Particularly, Mangawhai Allocation of funds and resources are not equitable reasonably representative No problems I think they are based on people's community of interest and for the West Coast-Central, the rural area Too much land to cover on the West Coast-Central. Its hard for Councillors to get out to these communities and hard for people to get meet with them. Seem to be about right Mangawhai and Kaiwaka should be in the Akld Supercity. Mangawhai needs to be a smaller clusture as its demographic is so different to the rest As currently drawn Mangawhai gross under represented. Dargaville aren't part of our environ. I dislike the fact that Mangawhai is included. They are simple Like the boundaries - just wish the councillors would be more involved in their wards. Communities of interest are together. Style/standard of living are grouped. There is no synergy between the West and the East, totally different.
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Answer
Seems to cover whole District fairly As above make sense I don't believe the Mangawhai area should be classed as Kaipara. Where does west-coast central start and stop specifically? Perhaps these could be reconfigured to include Dargaville. With the immense growth in the Mangawhai ward, more representation is required. Dargaville is showing a disproportionately high number of councilors. Kaiwaka - Mangawhai to few Likes: Even number of Councillors Dislikes: Too many wards, can be reduced to two wards, No Maori ward. I dislike the fact that they are not representative of the quite different contexts on the West, in the East and Central Kaipara. It is currently inequitable. There is insufficient knowledge on the Council of the WHOLE district and its opportunities and needs. Eastern Kaipara - particularly the Mangawhai and Mangawhai Heads - is rapidly growing and at risk of significant social and infrastructure problems if there is not much better-informed strategic thinking and specific risk management and planning. Only names! Unfair when looking at facilities that are in the west as opposed to the east. Is population of a ward taken into account when assigning councilors? simple and easily defined you know where you are Creates a them and us mentality between wards in the district for people with issues Satisfied with status quo. The boundaries are ok Numbers of residents/ratepayers should determine councillors for representation Not sure West Coast should be split in two with one rep for each The Dargaville and West Coast wards overlap I still believe there needs to be a different ward for the different types of rate payers Farmers vs Townies Both have different needs and concerns and should be represented Problem is that there are a fair amount of people living in the rural area but work in the township no comment The council don't give a shit what the people think so the wards don't matter. I think the Community would be represented more effectively if the Councillors were over the
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Answer
District and could each have input into all areas/wards I'm in Kaiwaka. Most of the population in our ward are in Mangawhai, and our representation tends to come from that part of the ward. Not all councillors interact with their areas away from where they live. Mangawhai needs a distinct ward Dargaville to large They make sense Maybe we need a separate "Mangawhai" ward N/C West coast and central could go to 1 councillor given the low population outside of Dargaville. Mangawhai and Mangawhai heads should be its own ward with Kaiwaka being included into Maungaturoto as a central ward. Mangawhai seem to drown out Kaiwaka within their ward. about the right size based on population They're fine. See above question. the boundary should be defined by the number of rate payers...not area per se. Councillors would be more effective in overall Council decisions if they were answerable to all KDC residents. They would research issues better and each local area would be better represented with the resulting more informed debates. And with fewer, higher paid councillors we would hopefully attract candidates of higher calibre and qualifications and business experience. As a history lesson look at what our fewer, appointed governors (called something else) achieved for that period. Dislike that West Coast Central is so large with only 2 councillors. Often feeling is not fairly represented. West coast ward boundaries don't make sense. Too big. Should be divided into two. In my opinion there needs to be more council members in both the West coast and Dargaville wards. I wonder Whether the representation is for the size of the area or for the amount of people. boundaries are not the problem - it is the representation I think the needs and facilities for Mangawhai are totally different from the needs of Kaipara West coast and North. Mangawhai should be in the Auckland Region. It feels like they divide the district. they do somewhat represent local area diversities (communities of interest) but at a cost of true representation.
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Answer
I think the current ward boundaries is a fair representation of communities of interest West coast is way too large to be fairly represented by only 2 people; what affects the northern area of the ward does not mean it's the same in the southern end of the ward and vice-versa! The ward boundaries have served the Kaipara district for all time and I am not sure how you could improve on them. Is their a shift or movement within each ward which will /will not benefit the area it covers? With current land usage diminishing say in Auckland does this mean good farming land is going to fill this need in our Kaipara district. I'm sure I do not need to tell you this has already begun so what effect would ward boundaries have on ratepayers....only increased rates likely!! I personally think Mangawhai should be split between Whangarei, and Auckland Councils. Residents there have more in common with East Coast values and attitudes, whereas Kaipara , and West Coasters are more inclined to have come from, or have come from a more rural based economy, and as such are somewhat distant in terms of the above , especially when Mangawhai is growing from an outpour of Aucklanders. No comment Local. Mangawhai opinion is ignored See above comments.
Number of responses to this question 125 (75%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Question Do the current ward names accurately reflect the areas they represent? What other 1K options would you propose?
Answer
Names!! is this a joke No West, central, south Okay as they are. not To my knowledge The Jugoslav community What is in a name? Keep as is history repeats Incorporate Te Reo into the ward names for Dargaville and West Coast Central.
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Answer
What difference. Council never listens.Yes, listen to the Mangawhai residents. We didn't want the stupid parking situation at Mangawhai Heads and the cow troughs and paintings on the asphalt on which one can slip, nor did we want Mangawhai Central with no water and sewerage disposal. Maybe what we would like is for the Council to LISTEN TO WHAT THE PEOPLE OF MANGAWHAI ARE SAYING!!! East west central would do. West coast central doesn't make sense A different name is needed They are fine. No west coast is vague , maybe it should be Tk and pouto and then Kaihu area , Good names No comment Love the Otamatea name, the rest are a bit bland although good descriptors No they are confusing The names are fine Increase the size of West Coast Central by including Ruawai (put the new border between Otamatea & West Coast Central Wards at Matakohe. Give part of the Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Ward to the Otamatea Ward - thus reducing the size & influence of the Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Ward. As people from the West Coast are the true Kaipara people while retired wealthy Aucklanders in Mangawhai are not these wards need to ensure that West Coasters have maximum influence over the East Coasters - otherwise the rest of Kaipara will be stuck again having to pay for Mangawhai's white elephants while the Mangawhai ratepayers refuse to pay their correct share ! The names are fine Yes Yes it’s bloody annoying when people keep changing names of things yes Yes names are fine Yes no comments Yes. Didn't worry me either way, that's just detail that is getting in the way of progress population based YES Yes
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Answer
Yes Yes Yes. None current names are accurate Elected overall Yes No. See above. Mangawhai should have at least one additional councillor. Possibly another considering the growth here. We are the cash cow of Kaipara and for the rates we pay, we should have a say. No comment. No Kaiwaka and Mangawai have nothing to do with the Kaipara. Split West Coast -Central or at least have 3 councillors for the ward. Be very wary of the Kaiwaka-Mangawhai ward and there influx of Auckland people who still want a mini Auckland. no particularly my suggestion is that they all start with Kaipara e.g. Kaipara West, Kaipara Mid, etc Sure they reflect the area they represent. It makes sense for people to have an unambiguous name for the ward. Tell it like it is Fine as is. West Coast/Central is pretty generic It's ok Yes ok Westcoast Central seems puzzling. Westcoast will do. If anything Otamatea could be seen as hving a central position in the Kaipara. Leave them alone and get on with proper council business. No , Mangawhai should stand alone. What now justifies areas of Mangawhai being RD2, Kaiwaka?. The Council unfairly has a West Coast Ward and yet no East Coast Ward, preferring to deny East Coasters a chance to support more people who identify with the East Coast and build on their Community of Interest. Yes Maori Wards good enough
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Answer
Yes They are fine to me If you split the West Coast Central ward I would suggest -West Coast North - Ono tai hau Raki - West Coast South - Ono tai hau tonga The views of the electors need to be better heard, maybe by more public input through public meetings, on line consultations etc. West Coast Rural Dargaville Central Ok with that For the eastern part "Mangawhai-Kaiwaka", but ensure that this area proportionally represented including forecast population growth. No. We don't need a bunch of maoris telling us what to do when they aren't even ratepayers themselves...nor educated in the roles. No should be based on population size Yes Yes they accurately reflect the areas. They reflect the current areas Yip Have a look at my earlier answer. Current seems OK Dargaville/Far North Mangawhai ward is considerably different than Dargaville, and should be treated as such. I dont believe Dargaville should have two councilors. No No. Propose: West Coast/Dargaville - 2 councillors Otamatea - 2 councillors Kaiwaka/Mangawhai - 3 councillors Maori Ward - 1 councillor Don't have a view on this. Another representative in the Mangawhai Kaiwaka ward as it currently seems biased to Mangawhai I'm sure there is a more appropriate cultural name other than a generic 'west coast and central' yes Yes
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Answer ok Yes Yes yes yes none If you give people other options then this will cost more money probably and hmmm I wonder who profits from this. More tax payer money and wharf money. I guess the names and boundaries are reflective of when they were established.Not sure if they are still reflective of our communities 30 something years after the 1989 reorganisation of Councils, but the same could be said about a large amount of NZ Legislation. Sorry - no other options for names to propose No, the Mangawhai ward should be just that. If a separate ward the single name Mangawhai would be appropriate yes Yes Happy with them Yes Current wards are OK. no change ok irrelevant No problem here. Not accurately but OK. Maybe another ward Dargaville South or Dargaville East. yes West coast ward isn't entirely on the coast Yes as above Could be simplified to West Coast, Dargaville, Otamatea Ok probably but that is not an issue that is of any importance. Concentrate on more relevant issues.
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Answer
Yes, I think they accurately reflect the areas they represent West coastward, this name does not reflect the actual range of areas this ward encompasses! Not particularly accurate really. When you look at the map above it does not show the smaller districts whom they represent within the view. Perhaps it would serve the wards better if each place was identified within those wards. It would assist voters when elections arise in terms of those seeking to become council representatives and whether they work with and for ratepayers obviously. Would smaller boundaries make council's work more productive? it would have to be discussed or consulted to make change. Please see above. Need more representation Mangawhai Kaiwaka ward Yes Names are not important, voices and fair representation are.
Number of responses to this question 112 (67%) Total number of responses for this survey 167 A 'community of interest' is a group of people who have a common geographical, economic, social, historical or other bond. Communities of interest can be identified as being where people feel they belong; where they live, work, shop, go to school and play.
Question 1L Are there any communities of interest that council should be considering?
Answer
Yes there are multiple communities of interest in Mangawhai. There are the retired community of Mangawhai, they should get there own ward like the iwi. Lower south west Kaipara is ignored. Poor roads, no water, no sewerage. No I'm sure there are. Maori of course - others might be revealed if we had STV at large - environmentalists, farmers, boaters, fishers, sports people . . . i think we are covered quite well No. Yes, Clive Boonham and Mangawhai Matters and also John Dickie!! Mangawhai kaiwaka has traditionally included maungatoroto
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Answer no Te Roroa and Te Uri o Hau should each have their own representative on council I suspect these are very good It seems crazy that Mangawhai does not have secondary schooling in this ward. People in this ward are therefore not represented in all their vital interests. Looking forward to there being a Maori ward. Be good to have some joint voice for the smaller communities, even if just a forum to share ideas (those who got left out of major spatial planning) - we probably all struggle with the same issues especially re sewerage, water supplies etc Not sure Ruawai should be included with. Dargaville and paparoa, maungaturoto and kaiwaka together with Mangawhai separate If you are going to have a Maori Ward councillor then you should also have in Kaipara a Yugoslavia descendant Ward councillor & a British/Irish descendant Ward councillor. Maori No Yes - The Mangawhai/Mangawhai Heads area. The fastest growing in the District. All thanks No all should be treated the same No Yes. There are many. no comments No. All people must be treated equally, which includes no special privileges for ethnicities. New Zealanders are/were united - onje people - and we must hot allow any group to have preferential treatment because of their ethnicity. I'm not sure what is meant by this question but if KDC provided more community spaces this would help.... More parks, huts, bbq's, walktracks etc Its one community All The Rangitana and Pouto communities They also segregate the community and promote self-interest... All equal
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Answer
The Locals, who's wishs are over-ruled by outsiders No Yes West Coast Central Dargaville Otamatea Keep all costs for Mangawai area in Mangawai. AND start telling the truth as to how all this farce of a treatement works will be paid. Mangawhai and Kaiwaka should be represented seperately. Kaiwaka has more in common with Maugaturoto The people of Mangawhai are deeply dissatisfied with Council. Yes - Small townships whose needs can be easily overlooked. concentrate on the towns that need promoting as tourist destinations, look after them tidy them up , I believe that most Kaipara residents are sick of hearing the name Mangawhai in the news , with all the crap that some other residents cause and the cost the council has had to spend to defend claims . Dargaville and others on town supply water could have had a system that meets the demand for water . Te Kopuru / Pouto: Kaihu north area. : Paparoa /Maungaturoto : no others than already in place would suggest not to silo Mangwhai as they need to keep a link to rest of Kaipara The business community seems to be neglected by council and are seen as cash-cows to hit with additional levies and bureaucracy that are burdensome and seemingly unecessary All sizeable communities of interest should be considered. Maori Marae. Wards with the most marae No Kellys Bay Disability needs Group Senior Citizens needs Group Youth needs Group (12 to 25) Public transport needs Group - very difficult at present for many people to get to where they need to go Arts and creative community, rural community. Both have an economic impact. Rural is traditional but A& C is growing rapidly as more a & c practitioners leave the 'big smoke' behind. This has nothing to do with council. Our roads are in a disgraceful state to mention one aspect and council should be concentrating on maintaining current infrastructure for the benefit of the ratepayers to go about their daily lives. Yes East Coasters, and West Coasters ( Split the the whole base in half lengthwise and then form wards to equal out the population to produce the desired Ward number, Maungaturoto needs more input from Council. Out of town owners
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Answer
Maori/Iwi no no yes, see above Rural Lifestyle small block ratepayers whose blocks are not used for generating income. They pay the same proportion of rates as large farms or lifestyle block owners whose land generates income of a significant level. I think this is unfair. Definitely! Mangawhai area Mangawhai - Kaiwaka. I think the KDC over thinks what they need to do. If its not broken, don't fix it. No The council should consider getting rid of Mangawhai. Perhaps the councillors would know this if they spent time in their ward Absolutely! There is a community of interest on the West coast including Ruawai. The West has absolutely no community of interest with the East/Mid area. There doesn’t seem to be consideration being given to aged and disabled communities no, and especially not separate seats based on race The rate payers of the Kaipara , No Yes, 1. Business & Economic Growth 2. Youth & Innovation 3. Culture & Heritage 4. Sport & Wellbeing 5. Te Taiao- Environmental & Global Warming 6, Food Security Maori Mangawhai and Mangawhai Heads as neither of these are currently adequately represented and there are opportunities for Council planning, decision making and execution of decisions to be greatly improved. All communities need to be considered, regardless of race , creed or financial wellbeing. Tangata whenua Yes Dargaville Maori Mangawhai as it’s growing exponentially and needs great care as it doesn’t have the infrastructure to cope with the speed of growth Paparoa no
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Answer
I think there need to a peoples board of 10 people from the Maori, Pakeha, terns, wharf, maz, wood street shops, older generation, mums actually people that don't have their fingers in pies for legal profit of the tax payer. Yes either north of Aranga or removal of other areas such as Turiwiri, Waiotira, Topuni, Taipuha etc Yes -the Mangawhai area is clearly the most populous and fastest growing area in the Kaipara district and also the highest value area contributing disproportionate share of the rates. Tangata Whenua No Unsure of the description of this question. Is this to do with Wards or demographics? No. Believe Omamari, Mamaranui is of interest because of the impending Wind Farm which I'm strongly in favour but issues need to be addressed on a local level. Perhaps coastal communities should have seperate representation as they have different considerations than rural properties. Waikara/Aranga No safety of women and children is representative of a community of interest - you have a narrow interpretation of this concept Dargaville township is looking and feeling a bit run down. Diversity is good Kaipara has now changed so much that really the population and wider communities of interest are clearly divided by SH1. I feel that the council should consider the communities of interest that are as a whole embraced across the Kaipara District such as Anzac Day, asking the wider district-based community how they wish to honour/celebrate this annually significant day Yes, Pouto! Pouto areas of significance are used for advertising the area, yet little to no help is given to help this small community thrive and expand! Missed opportunity! With a regional council at hand I think most small community groups are adequately serviced through them and the Kaipara council. Too much local government(additional groups/boards etc just eats up finance better used elsewhere. Again see above. At present I feel the community is being well supported Don’t make Mangawhai decisions frommDargaville
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Number of responses to this question 99 (59%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Should community boards be established? Question 1M Please refer to the Community Board information provided here.
Number of responses to this question 127 (76%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
Answer Count %
N/A 3 2 Strongly Agree 25 20 Agree 27 21 Neither Agree Nor Disagree 18 14 Disagree 19 15 Strongly Disagree 35 28
Question 1N Do you have any other comments to help inform councils proposal?
Answer
Mangawhai should be treated with respect. We should be paying equal % rates as the rest of Kaipara. And we should be getting equal % money spent in the area. At the moment it feels like Kaipara are treating Mangawhai like its golden goose, selling us down the river to a developer to
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Answer put tiny homes and to destroy the green space of our beautiful community. Decisions about how development happens in each community should be decided by the community it affects and the councillors that represent that community, not by councillors that live on the other side of the country!!! Roading must be improved - one lane bridges, dirt roads. Water supply for those on tanks wilful, and very expensive - this should be the number one priority of any council Yes, use local contractors to do council work not these global corporations that take their profits overseas We are not long out of statutory management Slow and steady please Nope. Not much point. The Mayor never listens and just does Jason's thing. Very difficult to recruit quality people to stand, so less councillors would increase renumeration. There should not be a Maori ward as that is very racist. A racist group is a group where only one race can belong. We have many races in Kaipara. A community group would be better, allowing other races to also have community groups I oppose a Maori ward The current representation does not seem balanced and other than local newspaper ads, there is not sufficient effective communication with ratepayers over very important community matters, for example Mangawhai Central development plans and the implications of the knock on effects to the community. No Just that council needs to be more aware of what the peoples of Kaipara actually want (rather than going down some Wellington sponsored agenda) i.e. by far the most pressing number one issue to Kaipara residents is the tar sealing of existing gravel roads - everything else pails into total insignificance in comparison, rather than go on about climate change the council should be planning & publishing the road map for new tar sealing of existing gravel roads ! I do not think we should have Maori wards. If the ward system remains there is no need for community boards. If the councillors are "elected at large" then community boards are a must Fixing roads No The establishment of Community Boards not only gives the community a greater assurance that local concerns and issues are being raised with Council they also ensure Council's awareness of local issues, capabilities, and views is raised. Council needs to listen more closely to people's issues no
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Answer
Please ACURATELY represent the people within the wards. Those voted on to Council must represent all people in their community, and be elected because of their commitment to their community. Becoming an apartheid system where Councillors must be of a specific race is abhorrent to a free and democratic society. This region urgently needs more people + more ratepayers....I hope KDC has their hand out for a chuck of the infrastructure funding? No representation based on race Democracy is being eroded under the current council! The bureaucracy of the previous failed council / commissioners is alive and well. Go back to the basics, not CEO’s or developers dreams or back pockets Kaitiaki and Community organisations already exist in Tinopai - Tinopai Resource management Unit represent marae and kaitiaki and Tinopai Ratepayers represent the pakeha community. The elected councillors should meet with their community groups on a regular basis. The recent decisions and judgments regarding the proposed wharf and Mangawhai Central, going against the majority of Locals, indicates, that KCC are not operating in the best interests of it's rate payers, and the next issue will be rubbish reduction(especially from building)- . Lack of incineration plants plus reduction. Would like to see Council copy best practices from overseas please. No No.... whatever is said will not be taken on by council if it does not suit the decision already made by the mayor and management of council Ward system encourages localism rather than looking at District as a whole all members should be elected from the populace,no race based seats allowed. Representation should reflect population and growth more accurately. People here feel ignored, silenced and that what Mangawhai wants and needs is not listened to by Council. Things we do not want are rammed through as it benefits council. Council is forcing people to leave. More of Mangawhai's rates should be spent on infrastructure in the Mangawhai area as they pay the most rates out of all the wards in the Kaipara. We should have tar sealed roads particularly on Cames, Devich and Lawrence roads and we need greater road management particularly between the Village, the Heads and the surf beach, especially with the development of Mangawhai Central. On busy holiday weekends the cars commuting between these areas clog up the already wholly inadequate road network, causing havoc, delays, accidents and chaos. We also need cycle paths and pedestrian walkways. Look after the rate payers , Don't put unnecessary charges on them IE recycle bins , we have not been given a option to opt out of them, if majority say yes . Less trying to solve council problems on face book on public pages by certain employees , this should be done on the council site and addressed by councolors or oppropriate manager , as this draws heated replies which is not a good look.
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Answer
9 councillors (3 from West Coast-Central) and 1 at large 10 in all. don't get how to answer number 13 yes think that community boards are a good idea Lets focus the minds on the function of Council and not wander into areas outside their expertise. We need to have a balance between fiscal responsibility and council obligations. Ratepayers are not an infinite money pit Kellys Bay with the Camping Reserve and the all-tide boat ramp have many visitors to the Kaipara as well as locals. The condition of the Kellys Bay Road (corrogations, narrowness in places and lack of metal) does nothing to encourage people to travel on the road. The damage that is done to their $50,000 - $100,000 campervans, caravans, boats, trailer and vehicles is not funny. Once a negative post is put up on the web about the road conditions it becomes viral and puts people off travelling through the whole of the Kaipara. We may not have the populations of the east coast but the whole of the Pouto peninsula is a very vital part of the tourist route for the Kaipara. More people appear to be living on the Mangawhai side of Kaipara This means in a democracy we should have a percentage of Councillors in line with the percentage of population. And Kaipara should consider moving council HQ to the more populated side of Kaipara comment- extreme disappointment in council's recent push to establish Maori wards without democratic consultation with wider public. More burocracy and paper shaffling.The Residents Associations seem to very effective and get things done 'on the ground'. Perhaps some sort of recompense or renumeration would be good like meeting and travel costs as some have to travel quite a distance. Please get on with basic council business and leave politics to other people to waste their time on. I pay my exorbitant rates not because I have many benefits from council due to where I live, but I pay because I am a supporter of community progress and welfare. Yes, I trust that the plus or minus numbers of voters per ward will not again be used to the disadvantage of those voters not identifying as having Dargaville type interests No Ensure Marae are places of engagement which suggests Council should utilise these places for Council meetings and ALL Councillors should visit all Marae across the Kaipara District Council within thier 3 year term, especially Councillors aligned to thier ward if it isn't broke, don't fix it Main concern is that there could be too many people being paid but not doing anything significant to help ratepayers. Establishing a Community Board will increase costs - is that efficient use of our rates? I used to think that having a Community Board was good for a fair representation of the people's views but I think, now that I have seen this district council operating without them, that a council can operate fairly and efficiently without them. As long as the representatives are available to the community/ public to talk to and that there is access to the council on matters of important.
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Answer
Community Boards still can not ensure better community representation. however if you increased the councillor numbers and provided for quarterly community meetings that Councillors as well as staff could attend in support, there should be no need for Community Boards. How about rather than the expense of community boards, Council pays for Community meetings. Councillors shoud be comfortable with this idea as its thier communities that they would be meeting with. please continue to consult electors, we are the reason you there. I live in one ward and work fulltime in another and pay rates in both wards but I can only vote for councillors in the ward I live in. I don't this represents my interests in both wards fairly. It appears that councils have become autocratic with agendas on which councillors can have little effect. Be fair, we are supposed to live in a democracy. As far as Wood Street renovation is concerned...the ratepayers hate it, and want itrought back to normal. NOW. No I would like to know why Mangawhai is included in the Kaipara District. Community boards are just another layer of bureaucracy. Kaipara is too small for community boards - they are more appropriate for large population areas ie large cities Yes, come and ask me. Just widen the net for feedback. Do not support Maori Wards Community boards would allow the representatives of the fastest growing area in Kaipara (Kaiwaka - Mangawhai) to get their thoughts and opinions in front of Council The total budget does not allow for Community Boards to be established. Especially if 4 wards remain and a Māori ward is established. Question 13 above depends on configuration of wards - my response is related to proposal below. It is a small population and not necessary to have community boards if councillors could address the area as below: West Coast/Dargaville - 2 councillors Otamatea - 2 councillors Kaiwaka/Mangawhai - 3 councillors Maori Ward - 1 councillor Concerned re adequate representation of Dargaville community. Time/health constraints prevent required analysis of cost verses additional representation. If community boards were established in say Dargaville it would negate the role of the elected councilors for that area why does council not do more to assist residential and commercial/indutrial development in the Otamatea ward? If council were run like a business you would be approaching landowners (before they have to come to you to fight it) and saying, hey look we'd like to help you with developing your land, here's a scheme plan what do you think etc etc
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Answer
Make more land open for development both residential and commercial N/A we have councilor who works for his own interested and not those of his electorate. Running on personal opinions and not those of the people he represents. The council needs a shake up put the wharf in to generate a tourist hub, change the car parking in Wood Street back to what it was (this has decreased profit for the shops and people no longer go there), establish a cycle path from heads to village. Central make them pay for their own sewage system, make them put in water tanks for all homes, and a big one for the shops, make it a new age eco-sustainable town which will bring in tourists. Have the sections no less than 800m2, do community allotments for eco-sustainable solutions and community. Have solar panels on all homes and shops built. Kaipara council step up get your shit together and think of the future, think big and stop getting back handers. And the Mayor don't be the Mayor than destroyed Mangawhai. I think Kaipara is too small to establish community boards. It is another level of remuneration and governance, that given our size, could become quite onerous. There are a number of organisations now that are 'quasi' community boards and I wouldn't want to see these formalised. Tangata Whenua need a community board Community boards may give a more local voice to smaller communities, more so than the growing wards and their larger population base. Rates should be apportioned to each ward according to the Rate levied in that area. there should be no cross subsidisation. I do not agree with separate Maori or any other racial representation. No Different areas of Kaipara have totally different environmental needs Keep Kaipara District Council local I realize Mangawhai brings in a lot of rates for council, but can the amount of people coming to live here be curbed? Mangawhai isn’t the same town for most people that have lived here used to be. I understand things change but since covid last year the town has gone crazy and it’s hard to live in when you’ve lived here your whole life. Wood Street looks shabby and temporary. And the sections shouldn’t be postage stamp in a country town - I think that’s what is changing the place for the worst. The council tends to be representative of only a select group of interests, too focused on development and growth without analysis of the impacts of other groups; out of touch with everyday realities for people. why don't you ask communities of interest what their definition of resilience is ? You make a lot of assumption and you have distanced your selves from the people who elected you. You have forgotten you are elected to serve the people not the other way around. Wards and boundaries are not the core issues, representation is. Thank you to all elected members for their work, much of which is not recognised. Reducing Mangawhais budget that causes less funds for the rest of Kaipara
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Answer
I think that it could be effective to have councillors and the mayor elected at large from around the district, and establish community boards as above to represent community interests. Nothing here has shown the intended Maori Ward and how that changes the number of councillors or population/councillors. This is a poor questionaire given that major ommision. I do not believe that the district needs Community Boards. When the Kaipara District Council first came into effect as a district council, there were community boards. I recall that the community boards at that time were hampered by the KDC refusing to acknowledge that these boards could be effective. The reason for this being that the council of those early days felt there was no need for them, the council felt the population in the district was not large enough to require them. I was a member and a chairman of one such community board. The population of the Kaipara District has not grown significantly, there is currently good representation for the community and if this is insufficient, the ratepayers so more carefully consider the people they have voted for and makes some changes at the next election. In my opinion, unless the Council and the community can show a NEED for the reinstatement of community boards, we should not have them. Yes, try getting out and actually visit the areas and the people they represent regularly, say monthly or bi-monthly, not just when looking for votes!! If there's a school in those areas, speak to them, see how they're fairing, be more proactive see what's really going on in the area, for the common average Joe, not just the business or farming sector, speak to working-class folks speak with beneficiaries, speak to the common everyday people Kaipara council seems to be progressive with what I've read in local papers. There is only so much money ratepayers pay so everything has to be utilised in the best way to benefit all ratepayers not just pockets of the region. With the decline of volunteerism generally, and unfortunately accelerated by Covid and the fear of gatherings, especially among the elderly, where volunteers mainly originate, the proposal of another layer of representation would , in my opinion be a waste of time. Community boards were disestablished some years ago, and unless they were given real "teeth" to progress issues, which if Councillors were doing their job, would not be permitted or necessary. Need more representation Mangawhai and our input to Council listened to No Mangawhai seems to be Kaipara's "cash cow" but we are not represented as fairly as is a "cash cow's" due.
Number of responses to this question 91 (54%) Total number of responses for this survey 167
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