The names of four more electorates will be changed for the next general election.
The Representation Commission, who outlined proposed changes to electorates in March this year, have now finalised boundary adjustments to 49 general electorates and three Māori electorates.
Nineteen were unchanged.
It said the main areas of change were in Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, Christchurch and the lower North Island.
The loss of an electorate in Wellington was also finalised, with Ōhāriu, Mana and Ōtaki being replaced with two new electorates named Kenepuru and Kapiti.
After hearings and submissions were made on the proposed changes in June, the commission today announced four additional electorate name changes.
The proposed electorate name of Rānui is now named Henderson, the East Coast is now East Cape, Wellington Central is now Wellington North, and Rongotai is now Wellington Bays.
Representation Commission chair Judge Kevin Kelly said most of the changes outlined in March have remained, but some amendments were made following the feedback process.
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The amendments included the following, from north to south:
- An area around Balmoral remains in Epsom rather than being moved to Mt Albert. Part of Arch Hill is moved from Auckland Central to Mt Albert.
- An area south of Tauranga city in the lower Kaimai Range no longer shifts into Rotorua and instead remains within Tauranga. There are related minor changes to the boundaries between Mt Maunganui and Rotorua.
- Proposed boundary changes north of Gisborne will no longer proceed. Instead, Napier gains several rural areas from Tukituki.
- Redwood remains with Christchurch Central, and instead Christchurch East gains an area from Christchurch Central in Linwood and Phillipstown.
- In the Māori electorates, the boundary change between Te Tai Tonga and Ikaroa Rāwhiti is confirmed and a minor technical adjustment is made to the boundary between Te Tai Tonga and Te Tai Hauāuru.
The commission said the final electorate boundaries and names will be used for the next general election, and any byelections held before that election will be conducted using the 2020 electorate boundaries.
“We received considerable feedback from the residents of Ashhurst on the proposal to include it within Wairarapa instead of Palmerston North or Rangitīkei,” Judge Kelly said.
“We looked at options to avoid this change, but it was not possible without making major changes to surrounding electorates throughout the lower and central North Island.
“Overall, we consider we have struck the appropriate balance so that each electorate has about the same number of people as is required of us under the Electoral Act.”
There were over 700 written submissions on the proposed boundaries and public hearings were held in June.
