Queenstown, Wānaka and Cromwell get extra ORC seat

The growing inland Otago population will have another seat around the regional council's decision making table from next year's local government elections.

An unanimous decision by the Otago Regional Council today after a representation review process means the Dunstan Constituency will be represented by four councillors from October 2025, up from three currently.

The jump in representation comes at the expense of the Dunedin area, which will have one fewer councillors, and comes in response to a population surge in parts of the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts.

The changes align with the initial representation review proposal put out for public consultation by the council, and some at the meeting today made a point of stressing submissions had been received and deliberated on in good faith.

There will be a one-month opportunity for any appeal of today's decision.

Speaking before the vote, Queenstown-based councillor Alexa Forbes said she wanted to "acknowledge the frustrations" voiced by both the Queenstown Lakes District and Dunedin City Councils during the feedback process.

She described the difficulty of finding the right representation balance across a region dominated by distinct urban areas with a large rural constituency between them.

"I'm not sure we've landed in the right place this time.

"We should be preparing ourselves for a very big change next time."

In response, it was argued by another around the table that opening the council up for an appeal is "unhelpful" and the decision is the "best and fairest one we can come up with for now". 

Cromwell-based councillor Michael Laws referred to Cromwell, Wānaka and Queenstown as a "golden triangle" experiencing significant demographic, cultural and political shifts.

The representation review "can't quite pick that up", he said.

Today's changes are the result of a mandated six-yearly review process.

The total number of councillors will remain at 12, so the move will decrease Dunedin's representation from six councillors to five. There will remain two councillors from Molyneux ward and one, Moeraki.  

The last review was undertaken in 2018, when no changes were made.