Kaipara District Council
Kaipara District Council Kaunihera o Kaipara | |
|---|---|
| History | |
| Founded | 6 March 1989 |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 9 seats (1 mayor, 8 ward seats) |
Length of term | 3 years |
| Meeting place | |
| Kaipara District Council Building, Dargaville | |
| Website | |
| kaipara | |
Kaipara District Council (Māori: Kaunihera o Kaipara) is the territorial authority for the Kaipara District of New Zealand.[2]
Structure
The council is led by the mayor of Kaipara, who is currently Jonathan Larsen[3]. There are also eight ward councillors.[2]
History
Kaipara District Council was founded through the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms and was constituted on 1 November 1989. It was formed from the councils of five former boroughs and counties, representing all of Hobson County, Dargaville Borough, Otamatea County, and parts of Rodney County and Whangarei County. In addition, it took over the functions of the Raupo Drainage Board, Kaiwaka Reserve Board, and the Pahi Reserve Boards.[4]
A review team put in place by the Minister of Local Government in June 2012 found that the council faced financial management and governance challenges that were beyond the ability of the mayor and councillors to manage. The elected council agreed and asked the minister to appoint commissioners to take over governance of the council. The minister appointed John Robertson (chairman), Richard Booth, Colin Dale and Peter Winder as the commissioners on 6 September 2012.[5]
In 2016, a new Kaipara District Council was elected, with Peter Winder guiding the council as Crown manager. In 2019, the council returned to full self-management.[6]
Kaipara District was divided into the three wards of West Coast-Central, Dargaville and Otamatea for the 2016 election. A fourth ward of Kaiwaka-Mangawhai was added for the 2019 election.[7] For the 2022 New Zealand local elections, Kaipara District Council voted to establish a Māori ward. For that election, the West Coast-Central and Dargaville Wards merged to form Wairoa Ward, and the Māori ward of Te Moananui o Kaipara was created.[8] Pera Paniora was elected as councillor for the Māori ward.[9] On 7 August 2024, the Council voted to dissolve the Māori ward, rather than hold a binding referendum on it alongside the 2025 New Zealand local elections.[10][9]
References
- ^ "Declaration of official local elections results". Kaipara District Council. 17 October 2025.
- ^ a b "About Council". kaipara.govt.nz. Kaipara District Council.
- ^ "Declaration of official local elections results". Kaipara District Council. 17 October 2025.
- ^ "Management Implementation of Memorandum Understanding Between Kaipara District Council and Te Uri O Hau, Ngati Whatua". Kaipara District Council. Kaipara District Council. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008.
- ^ "Open Letter to all Kaipara District Council residents and ratepayers" (PDF). Kaipara District Council. September 2012.
- ^ Laird, Lindy (4 October 2019). "Kaipara District Council gets vote of confidence from Crown manager". The Northern Advocate.
- ^ Local Government Commission (2019). "Determination of representation arrangements to apply for the election of Kaipara District Council to be held on 12 October 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Pre-Election Report outlines challenges and opportunities". Kaipara District Council. 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ a b Botting, Susan (7 August 2024). "Kaipara District Council votes to disestablish Māori ward". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Kaipara District Council votes to disestablish Māori ward". RNZ. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.