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Canterbury Regional Council ECan: On same six-year cycle as CCC (Local Government Commission has placed all councils on one) now with growing common agreement on boundaries etc..
Council Minutes #324 28Aug08 "A Division was called for recommendation (b) (That the Council resolves to change to an STV electoral system for the 2010 elections) and it was declared LOST by 8 votes to 5, the voting being as follows: For (5): Cr Burke, Cr Kirk, Cr Sage, Cr Tindall, Cr Sutherland. Against (8): Cr McKay, Cr Murray, Cr Little, Cr Demeter, Cr Oldfield, Cr Kane, Cr Neill, Cr Evans. Absent (1): Cr Harrow. It was moved Cr Evans, seconded Cr Neill (That Council resolves to retain the existing electoral system FFP [sic] for the 2010 election). The motion was put and the recommendation CARRIED" to advertise petition opportunity deadline of 28Feb09 but with no public consultation..
Dated 2007 Local Elections info "held under the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system"
MEETING OF THE REPRESENTATION REVIEW COMMITTEE 21Jun06 "Attached to the agenda was information received from Christchurch City Council that included a report on Environment Canterbury's representation review that was presented to their Council meeting of 20 April 2006. At that meeting the Christchurch City Council resolved to support Option 2, which provides for nine City Members. They also resolved: 1. To advise Environment Canterbury that the Christchurch City Council considers that whichever option is chosen, the City members should be elected at large across the city. 2. That City Council staff be requested to report back on the possible formation of a unitary authority. Resolved: That the information provided by Christchurch City Council be received. Cr Budd/Cr Kirk ...
Consultant Peter Berry STEPS TAKEN SO FAR: Maori Representation resolved. No separate Maori Constituency; Council confirmed first past the post voting system would remain for 2007 election; Pre-Review Consultation carried out; Regional Affairs/LGNZ guide for Region Councils' Representation Reviews issued; Canterbury region communities of interest considered by Council.. RECOMMENDATION That the report be received. That the Committee considers whether to refer the report to a Council workshop on 6 July 2006 or makes a recommendation to the Council." Not Peter Berry Consultancy.au
MINUTES 262nd MEETING.. 30Jun'05 "REPORT OF THE REPRESENTATION REVIEW COMMITTEE Cr Burke welcomed Peter Berry (Representation Review Consultant) to the meeting. Cr Johnston presented the report from the Representation Review Committee. He advised that there had been several meetings with Maaori representatives and he was hopeful of Council being in a position to make a decision on Maaori Representation by the end of July. Moved Cr Johnston, seconded Cr Kirk. (a) That the Council makes no decision to alter its current voting procedures. (b) That the Council gives public notice of the right to demand a poll, in terms of Section 28 of the Local Electoral Act 2001, on the electoral system to be used for the election of the Council. (c) That the Representation Review Committee defers consideration of the item (Maori Representation) to allow consultation to be completed and reported back to this Committee. (d) That the amended process timetable for the Representation Review be adopted. CARRIED"
COUNCIL MEETING #258 28Apr05 "ORDER PAPER NO. 10. MATTER FOR COUNCIL DECISION. REVIEW OF REPRESENTATION ARRANGEMENTS Cr Johnston welcomed Peter Berry to the meeting and invited him to speak to his report which was attached to the agenda. Mr Berry explained that his report set the scene and suggested a process for undertaking the review of representation arrangements, which was required to be completed by 3 August 2006. There were three elements to the review: 1. review of the electoral system (FFP or STV); 2. consideration of Maori constituencies 3. representation arrangements for elections of the Council. At a recent seminar on the review, the importance of starting the process early was emphasised. If the Council decides to have a poll on the electoral system this will have financial implications and therefore a decision should be made before 30Jun'05"
Environment Canterbury 2002 "Living Here" insert coupon STV survey result:
Special Council Meeting 12Sep02 "2. ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR 2004 ELECTIONS Results of the public consultation undertaken by the Council were detailed. It showed that across the region 49.6% of the 4808 responses received preferred the FPP system, with 48.2% favouring a change to STV. The Christchurch constituencies responses favoured STV at 53.9% with 43.5% supporting FPP. Moved Cr McKay, seconded Cr Penno. That the Council resolve to remain with First Past the Post (FPP) system and gives public notice of the right of 5% of electors to demand a poll on or before 19 September 2002. The main points resulting from the ensuing discussion were: * The results of the public consultation undertaken were useful. * As a regional authority we were in a difficult situation because the choice of system had to cover the whole region. * The introduction of the STV system would become inevitable, but at this stage more time was required for voters to understand the process. * STV resulting in a fairer representative vote and assisted minority groups. * Any change of a voting system should be as a result of a referendum." Carried 9:2.
That 53.9% urban Christchurch support for STV came out of 65.3% of ECan's rating base at the time, who provided at least 62.6% of the total votes cast. If the 2.2% of "No Preference" votes had been added onto the STV total from ECan's 2002 poll, then that can be said to have produced a winning 50.4% mandate for change, over six years ago. The 4808 votes cast represented less than 1% of the Canterbury population, with typical election turnouts being around 40% of eligible electors. Note the impossibility of gathering a petition from 5% of electors within one week, as ECan allowed for in September 2002 (legislatively backed).

Christchurch City Council CCC: "The Local Electoral Act 2001 requires local authorities to review their representation arrangements at least once every six years. The Christchurch City Council carried out its last representation review in 2003 and has now started a new review process for the 2010 elections.." 11Sept08 Council resolved to: "(b) Retain the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system for the 2010 Christchurch City Council elections.
The Council has since given public notice of the right for five percent of electors to demand a poll on the electoral system to be used at the 2010 local elections. (A valid demand for such a poll would need to be made before 28 February 2009, so that a poll could be held no later than 21 May 2009.)" RepresentationReview2010Election.pdf + Consultation Information ends Mon "9 February 2009. Anyone wanting to make an oral submission will be heard by the Council in the first week of March 2009. The full Council will consider the submissions it receives on the initial proposal and then either confirm or amend the initial proposal, and issue its final proposal by 23 March 2009. The final proposal will be publicly notified. If any appeals or objections to that final proposal are received, then the matter must be referred to the Local Government Commission for determination. The Commission is required to issue its decision by 11 April 2010, and its decision is final (subject only to judicial review or appeal on a point of law)."
Minutes Of Christchurch City Council 11 September 2008 "28. REPRESENTATION REVIEW: MAORI WARD AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM ISSUES Councillor Cox moved that the Council: (a) Note that no Maori ward can be established in the Christchurch City Council district at this point in time because the legislative threshold used to qualify for the election of at least one member to a Maori ward has not been met. (b) Retain the current First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system for the 2010 City Council elections. (c) Note that regardless of whether the Council passes a resolution to change its electoral system, it is required to give public notice by 19 September 2008 of the right for 5 per cent of electors to demand a poll on the electoral system to be used at the 2010 local elections. The motion was seconded by Councillor Sheriff and was then put to the meeting on a clause by clause basis. Clause (a) was declared carried. Clause (b) was declared carried. Councillor Wells requested that her name be recorded against. Clause (c) was declared carried."
CCC 8Jun05 Agenda.doc "Mr Warwick Lampp of Electionz.com is available to be appointed Electoral officer. Electionz.com is one of only three companies in New Zealand that are involved in elections and they are currently the Electoral Officer for a number of councils. Since the introduction of STV, Banks Peninsula District Council has used them for the counting process. Mr Lampp is an experienced Electoral Officer with good knowledge of requirements. As an outside Officer he will forward a quote for costs involved for the poll." Electionz.com "NZ's premiere election services provider & local government software specialist" L1 506 Wairakei Rd & STV graphical demo * * *
Report of the Riccarton/Wigram Community Board to the Council meeting of 25 November 2004 "4. TRIENNIAL ELECTIONS - REPORT OF THE ELECTORAL OFFICER The Board received the report submitted by the Electoral Officer (Max Robertson). Members also made the following comments in relation to the recent elections: * The preliminary FPP results should have been released earlier on election day. * A three week voting period was too long, and should be shortened to two weeks. * The introduction of STV had created voter confusion, and led to a large number of informal and blank votes across all election issues * Consideration should be given to using postal voting in conjunction with polling booths. * There was a need to completely separate the District Health Board elections from the local government elections. * If STV is to be retained, a better awareness and education programme should be undertaken. The Board decided to bring this issue to the 14 December 2004 meeting of the Community Board with a view to preparing a submission to the Justice and Electoral Select Committee of Parliament which would be looking into the wider issues surrounding this year's Local Government/Health Board elections."
Report of the Electoral Officer to the Council 24 April 2003 "RESULT OF POLL ON ELECTORAL SYSTEM TO BE USED FOR 2004 AND 2007 CHRISTCHURCH CITY ELECTIONS The poll on the electoral system to be used for the next two Christchurch City triennial elections was held over a three week period ending on Saturday 5 April 2003. The following votes were cast for the two electoral systems which were the subject of the poll: Votes cast in favour of the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system 53,256. Votes cast in favour of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system 30,382. The result of the poll is binding on the Council and the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system will therefore apply for the 2004 and 2007 Christchurch City elections. The electoral system to apply for the 2010 and subsequent Christchurch City elections may be reviewed by the Council in 2008. VOTING BY WARDS The following schedule gives a breakdown of the voting by wards:.. COST OF POLL As charges are still coming to hand, it will be some time yet before the final cost of the poll is known. However, because the poll was held in conjunction with a by-election to elect two members of the Canterbury Regional Council, the net cost of the poll is expected to be below $200,000."
Rod Donald's ERC/Green petition-driven CCC STV referendum poll held in April 2003 failed poorly 2:1 "ELECTORAL REVIEW 2003 ..One difficulty with the review in 2003 in practical terms is it is impracticable to hold any meaningful consultation with the public before the Council must make a decision on any proposals by 31 August 2003. The public consultation would effectively be the statutory consultation process of the public's right to object after the Council's proposal is notified in September 2003. An earlier start to this process has been constrained by the STV poll." Strategy & Finance Committee Agenda 14 April 2003 - a handy out?
Minutes Council meeting 12 December 2002 "PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS (1) Demand for Poll to be held on Electoral System to be used at 2004 and 2007 Christchurch City Elections. Councillor [Lesley] Keast and other Councillors presented petitions demanding that a poll be held on a proposal that the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system be used at the 2004 and 2007 elections of the Christchurch City Council and its Community Boards, in accordance with Section 29 of the Local Electoral Act 2001. The petitions were then handed to the City Manager in his capacity as the Council's Principal Administrative Officer, for checking that the persons signing the petition were enrolled as electors of Christchurch City. The City Manager advised that following confirmation that the required 5% of electors had signed the petition, he would then formally notify the Council's Electoral Officer with a view to a poll being held in early April 2003."
Minutes of Special Council Meeting of 5 September 2002 "DEPUTATIONS BY APPOINTMENT (1) Electoral System for 2004 Elections. Submissions were made to the meeting by the following persons regarding the electoral system to be employed for the 2004 Christchurch City Elections: Mr David Close, who urged the Council to retain the present First Past the Post (FPP) system; The Hon David Caygill, who urged the Council to adopt the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system.
2. MEETING OF THE RICCARTON/WIGRAM COMMUNITY BOARD OF 28 AUGUST 2002. Resolved: That the Board's report be received.
3. MEETING OF THE SHIRLEY/PAPANUI COMMUNITY BOARD OF 4 SEPTEMBER 2002 The Council was orally advised that at its meeting held the preceding evening the Shirley/ Papanui Community Board had passed a resolution urging the Council not to adopt the Single Transferable (STV) system for the 2004 elections.
4. SUPPLEMENTARY ITEM The Mayor referred to the supplementary report by the City Manager on the optimum number of members per ward if STV was to be used as the electoral system, and the outcome of the STV public consultation process. The Mayor advised that it had not been possible to include this report in the agenda, as the required information was not available when the agenda had been prepared and circulated. The Mayor advised that it was, however, essential that the report be dealt with at the present meeting, rather than being deferred to a subsequent meeting. It was resolved that the supplementary report of the City Manager be received and considered at the present meeting.
5. ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR 2004 ELECTIONS Consideration was given to the City Manager's report regarding the electoral system to be employed for the 2004 Christchurch City elections, and the City Manager's supplementary report on the optimum number of members per ward if STV was used and the outcome of the STV public consultation process. Councillor O'Rourke moved "That the Council conduct a poll of electors as soon as practicable to determine the question of whether the STV voting system will be implemented for Christchurch City and its Community Boards for the 2004 and 2007 elections". The motion was seconded by Councillor Condon. Councillor Broughton moved by way of amendment: '1. That the Council retain the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system for the 2004 Christchurch City Elections. 2. That the Council resolve to hold a poll of electors, or a referendum, to be held in conjunction with the local body elections in 2004, to enable the people of Christchurch to state their preference on the preferred electoral system. 3. That if the Council decides on a poll of electors rather than a referendum then the Council request Central Government to amend the Act to permit the poll in 2004. 4. That the Council budget accordingly in the 2004/05 financial year for the cost of the poll/referendum.' The amendment was seconded by Councillor Crighton and when put to the meeting was declared carried on division no 1 by 13 votes to 12, the voting being as follows: For (13): Councillors Baker, Broughton, Corbett, Cox, Crighton, C Evans, M Evans, Harrow, Sheriff, Stewart, Stonhill, Withers and Wright. Against (12): Councillors Alpers, Anderton, Austin, Buck, Condon, Ganda, James, Keast, O'Rourke, Wells, Williams & the Mayor. When put to the meeting as the substantive motion the amendment was declared carried on division no 2 by 13 votes to 12, the voting being as follows: For (13): Councillors Baker, Broughton, Corbett, Cox, Crighton, C Evans, M Evans, Harrow, Sheriff, Stewart, Stonhill, Withers and Wright. Against (12): Councillors Alpers, Anderton, Austin, Buck, Condon, Ganda, James, Keast, O'Rourke, Wells, Williams & the Mayor."
"STV IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTCHURCH AND THE BOARD Following general discussion on the merits and demerits of the STV electoral system, the Riccarton/Wigram Community Board resolved to urge Council not to choose to adopt STV for the next election in 2004." Community Board to the Special Council Meeting of 5 September 2002 & "The purpose of this report is to put before the Board information regarding the possible Single Transferable Voting (STV) system for the next local body elections. A decision on this will be made by the Council at its meeting on 5 September 2002" Author Community Advocate Martin Maguire DDI 941-6501 Riccarton/Wigram Community Board Agenda Special Meeting 28 August 200[2] + presentation by Alan McRobie to CCC on 'The ABC of STV' on 5Jul02

+ Environment Centre history ...

"It is a good opportunity to reflect on a person who is no longer with us, and I am speaking about the co-leader of the Green Party Rod Donald. I would like to share with this House a little of my experience with him. I recall that in 2002 I introduced to this House what was then, and still is, a most controversial piece of legislation. That legislation was titled the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (Maori Constituency Empowering) Bill. It was vehemently opposed by Rod Donald, but I am talking here about the integrity of the man. I made it my business to speak to their caucus, and with my very persuasive manner I managed to win the majority in support. But Rod Donald had other views. In fact, he supported the single transferable vote (STV). I told Rod Donald that nowhere in the world had STV been proven to be beneficial in terms of indigenous representation, and I would not like to see, and I would not support, that type of approach being tested on Maori. But he still opposed it, and through the parliamentary process - and I am talking in the first instance about the first reading - vehemently opposed it. He took part in the select committee process and he vehemently opposed it. The bill came back to the House for its second reading, and he vehemently opposed it. Through the Committee stage, with the help of Mr Ron Mark, he vehemently opposed it, as he did with the third reading. The interesting thing was that as soon as the votes were taken for the third reading, and the bill was passed, he was the first person to cross the floor to shake my hand and say congratulations, well done. Now, I am talking about the integrity of a person who is worth remembering. And I do remember him for that special experience I had with him." Hon Mita Ririnui, Minister of State in 2005

Blair Anderson local STV proponent blairformayor/MildGreens.blogspot.com


Summary table of NZ STV poll results

Dunedin 2003, 51.3%
Wellington 2008, 50.46%
Hamilton 2006, 38.99%
Christchurch 2003, 36.33%


Council To Finalise Draft Ten Year Plan 2009 - 2019: First Council In New Zealand To Ask Residents To Set Their Rates Wanganui district council "a vital part of the public consultation will be to give Wanganui residents the option of low, medium or higher rates rises. It is the first such choice to be presented to ratepayers in New Zealand, and it may well be an international first as well." voxy.co.nz 30Jan09
 Wider NZ

Alliance Party of New Zealand Manifesto "Local Government - Key goal: Local communities will own and control services such as water, waste disposal and public transport. * The Alliance supports well- researched long-term planning that works in the interests of the community. * We will require income raised through rates to be based on ability to pay. * We will introduce Single Transferable Voting (STV) for local government elections. * There will be no more asset sales of public services."

"..David Lange.. the former Labour Prime Minister, likes to tell the story that New Zealand set out on its way to MMP because of a mistake in a television debate during the 1987 election campaign. And the way he tells it, that his notes on the debate prompted him to say ... that it was Labour Party policy, if re-elected, to hold a referendum on proportional representation. As you know, Labour was re-elected in 1987, and welshed on that promise. The truth is, as most things are in this business, something else. In fact it hadn't been a Labour Party policy at all, it had never been in their manifesto at all, but nor was the first step to MMP just a glitch in the heat of the political debate.
Labour in its first term had abandoned, and this is the reality, the heartland of its policies. It had turned its back on its supporters. It had delved into the hard-line monetarists' text books, and came up with an agenda that was nothing like the programme that its voters had expected, or they had campaigned on. It began a rot at the core of the old electoral system in New Zealand. It confirmed the view that many, I might add, have always had, that politicians could not be trusted.
Now New Zealanders came to believe, that once elected, politicians could do what they liked, and the first-past-the-post system encouraged them to believe that they could get away with it. And the old system of winners-take-all - that mechanism inevitably swelled the majority for the winning party. The figures tell a very compelling story of the old system's lack of fairness. For example, in 1984, the year of Labour's landslide victory, it scored just 43% of the vote, but it took 56 of the 95 seats in Parliament. So that with well under half of the vote, it got about 60% of the seats in the House. Minor parties won 2l% of the vote that year, but got just two seats between them.
In 1986 the Royal Commission on the Electoral System had made a compelling argument for a fairer, proportional system. But Labour hoped that its Report, as so is the wont of parliamentarians to do, would gather dust in a parliamentary backroom until the issue went away. If the large parties, though, hadn't abused their windfalls from the throw of the electoral dice, then maybe New Zealand would never have lost its patience - or lost its patience in sufficient numbers - with the old system. But abuse it they did. When the National Government at last honoured the promise to hold a referendum in 1992, only 15% of voters wanted to stay with the old system. A full 85% of voters wanted change. And MMP, I am sorry to tell you Mr Chairman, was the option they preferred.
They had a run-off in September of 1982 to see which system would run-off against first-past-the-post, and it was a very interesting referendum process. The idea was that you have four versus each other, and then the winner would face the first-past-the-post option. It was a strategy where the fundamentalists of the old established parties had clearly set out to pervert even the referendum itself, but they failed. There would have been no difficulty in putting the four up against first-past-the-post in a clear run-off. Do you want STV or first-past-the-post; MMP or first-past-the-post or some other system versus first-past-the-post? You would have still got the same referendum result. But in the end the MMP train was on track and gathering steam between September of 1982 and 1983. Most politicians who opposed MMP knew that in the interests of survival, and their own political longevity, they should keep their heads down, and let the people get on with their decision. Now a business-backed campaign - heavily backed by business - funnily enough in a circumstance which you would never tolerate in most other countries, backed by a national campaign, argued the danger and the instability of proportional representation. This, in a country that had, from 1972, routinely swapped governments with 'land-slide' swings from one party to the other. But it didn't wash, and a second referendum in 1993 delivered a clear 'yes' to MMP.." speech by Winston Peters MP 1978~2008, Melbourne 25Jul97, PRSA.org.au transcript

Department of Internal Affairs DIA: "has a neutral position on the merits of any particular voting system" localcouncils.govt.nz info & Local Government Services & Choosing Electoral Systems in Local Government in New Zealand STV.pdf & STV Information & STV Taskforce Single Transferable Vote website stv.govt.nz "STV - It's simple to vote.. In 2007 STV is being used to elect members of these local authorities:
* Chatham Islands Council
* Dunedin City Council
* Kaipara District Council
* Kapiti Coast District Council
* Marlborough District Council
* Porirua City Council
* Thames-Coromandel District Council
* Wellington City Council [see WCC elections & 2008 Electoral System Poll - Results 50.46% retains STV wellington.govt.nz]
..Until 2004, local authority elections were conducted using the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system. STV was used by 10 councils for the 2004 local body elections. The same 10 councils will be using STV in the October 2006 [sic 07] elections. STV was also used for elections to the Christchurch City Council in 1917, 1929, 1931 and 1933, and for Woolston Borough Council in 1917 and 1919. In the private sector, Fonterra used STV for their Board of Directors and Shareholders' Council elections in 2002. Overseas, STV has been around since the 1850s. STV elections are currently held in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta and parts of Australia and the United States of America."

Positively Dunedin nicolaholman.wordpress.com "24/12/02 Petition reaches target of 4200 and so right to a referendum is won.. 4/4/03 Referendum Result: Dunedin City voters were asked to choose between single transferable voting (STV) and first past the post (FPP).
44.3% voter turnout
STV 19082 = 51.3% for STV
FPP 18120" + DCC agrees to retain STV election "councillors voted 6-4" with 4 absent 13Aug08

Electoral Commission wikipedia & Three electoral systems: MMP, FPP, STV summary teaching resource ElectionsNZ "jointly maintained by several agencies with different roles in the administration of NZ's electoral system" elections.org.nz

Electoral Reform Coalition ERC: esp Wgtn mmp.org.nz (defunct?) was STVNZ.org (archive domain name dropped 19/08/06) Stuart Young site w/graphic see Electoral reform in NZ wikipedia & Rod Donald RIP & Stephen Todd & Steve Withers MMP from linkedin/ truthseekernz.blogspot "What mix of all the perspectives on offer is closest to the objective truth?"

Green Party: greens.org.nz/search/node/stv & 14 Good Reasons for Adopting STV for your local authority 20Aug02 Auckland City Councillor Richard Northey on Electoral Reform & Local Government topics + Wellington Greens Local campaign STV is under threat! 08 "Single Transferable Voting (STV) is under attack and support is needed now to defend it. A campaign was initiated and led around 6 years ago by our late co-leader Rod Donald and other activists around the country for local authorities to adopt STV. This campaign led to 10 local authorities adopting the system. But now the right are fighting to overturn this around the country and it is time for the Greens to once again take the lead to promote STV.. STV is a great system:
* It is fairer because seats are won in proportion to the level of support won
* Under-represented communities have a fairer go under STV
* Mayors must have a majority to win, unlike FPP
* STV means that most votes count towards the result. Under FPP, many votes will often not count.
* STV is a simple system which simply requires you to rank candidates and gives you the ability to vote positively for whom you want, rather than who you don't.
* STV is fairer for all whilst FPP favours the right"

Hamilton city referendum results "13 May 2006 Hamilton City Council referendum has come out in favour of continuing with both the fluoridation of the city's water and with the first-past-the post electoral system" FPP:STV = 3:2 + "Consultation on Representation Review: As part of a representation review in August 2005, Council resolved to adopt the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system for Council's 2007 triennial election. Feedback provided by TeROK showed support for the STV voting system as a way of potentially increasing the chances of Maori representation within the elected members if Council decided against the creation of separate Maori wards and seats. Council subsequently decided not to introduce dedicated Maori wards but adopted to introduce the STV electoral voting system. Council's decision to adopt STV was overturned by a binding referendum that was held on 13 May 2006 (forced by a residents' poll on the issue). The results of this referen- dum called for the First Past the Post voting system to be retained as the preferred voting system for Council's 2007 and 2010 triennial elections." Annual Report 2005/06

Local Government Commission LGC pro STV see Jul08 Review of the Local Government Act 2002 & the Local Electoral Act 2001 Summary Report "We believe some councils are failing to fully understand some critical provisions and in so doing are inadvertently making the operation of this Act more demanding than it needs to be. This may be discouraging public participation in some areas. Advancing and adopting good practice, by council officers and elected members alike, is the key to furthering the policy intent of the Act.. 5.1 The electoral system for local elections 45. No change at this time to the Local Electoral Act relating to choice of electoral system for local authority elections. 46. Amendments to the Local Electoral Act: a. Section 27 to provide that a local authority resolution to adopt a particular electoral system applies for the following two triennial elections. b. Replace the term 'electoral system' with 'voting system' in each instance it occurs in the Act. 47. Development and dissemination of further good practice guidance relating to the provision of information to councils and communities on the advantages and disadvantages of the FPP and STV electoral systems." + Main Report 5.1.4 Analysis "The advantages of STV relate to its potential to enhance representation and include: * the provision of proportional representation in multi-member wards/ constituencies that may result in increased voter turnout; * the provision of majority preference results in single-member ward/ constituency elections; * reduction in the number of 'wasted' votes (i.e. votes that do not contribute to the election of any candidate).. We believe, ideally, electors should not have to face dual electoral systems. Our analysis suggests that there is a negative impact from having dual electoral systems on the same voting document. The incidence of blank and informal voting documents relates, in part, to voters having to change between the two electoral systems on one voting document rather than the nature of STV itself. While STV has the potential to enhance representation and engagement, we do not believe it has wide enough public support at this time for it to be made mandatory. We believe more education on the advantages and disadvantages of FPP and STV is necessary before a decision is made on the preferred option. In the meantime we recommend local discretion on the choice of electoral systems be retained." lgc.govt.nz * * * * *

Sandra Lee was involved too in Ackd & govt: "In introducing the new local government legislation in the House on the 19 December 2001, the minister of Local Government, Sandra Lee, stated that: 'the bill is about empowering communities, not as some might imaging by the empowerment of councils to exert greater and greater power and authority over their electors, but rather by the empowerment of New Zealanders within their local communities to exercise even greater control over their elected representatives and councils and over the environments and communities in which they live.'" ECan Meeting Of The Representation Review Committee 21Jun06


International

ACE Electoral Knowledge Network Administration and Cost of Elections Project encyclopaedia STV etc aceproject.org UN

Collaborynth.com.au Local Government Services Councillor Network etc

Elections and Electoral Systems by Country Political Science Resources index Richard Kimber psr.keele.ac.uk * * *

Electoral Reform Society London 1884- "Of all the voting systems out there, we believe the best is the Single Transferable Vote, or STV.. - STV allows voters to vote for candidates rather than parties (unlike the system used for the European Parliament elections and for the regional lists of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly); - STV allows voters to make choices between candidates of the same party; - STV will give broadly proportional results, not just by party but by any other criteria which significant numbers of voters use in casting their votes; - STV eliminates the need for tactical voting and ensures that as many votes as possible contribute to the election of councillors." electoral-reform.org.uk articles Local Government etc news "The Electoral Reform Society has reacted with disappointment to the shelving of the Brown government's pledge to reinvigorate our constitution. The Queen's speech featured no commitment to a Constitutional Renewal Bill. It was understood that, following the pre-legislative scrutiny work of the Joint Committee this year, a Bill would form a part of the Government's legislative programme" 3Dec08 & Electoral Reform Ballot Services 1988 + STVAction.org.uk "to advance the campaign for STV by encouraging supporters of STV to share campaigning resources and debate campaigning strategy.. To increase public awareness of the advantages of STV compared with other voting systems"

Fairshare "Scotland's Campaign for Local Democracy ..cross-party organisation campaigning for.. STV ..Kerley Working Group was assigned the task of selecting the proportional electoral system that would be most appropriate for local elections. It concluded that the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system was the most suitable" fairsharevoting.org

FairVote.org "The Way Democracy Will Be ..reform catalyst.. develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels" 1992- Center for Voting and Democracy US + Fair Vote Canada FVC "multi-partisan citizens' campaign for voting system reform" & "BC Electoral Reform Referendum Set for May 12, 2009" & STV.ca "On May 12, British Columbians will vote to replace the 'first past the post' system with a proportional voting system known as the B.C single transferable vote (BC-STV)" via Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform citizensassembly.bc.ca & defunct: yourbigdecision.ca voteformmp.ca + Single transferable vote would break down political barriers in BC straight.com blog 13Feb09 & greenparty.bc.ca "Reforming Government.. Build a Better Democracy.. Greens have promoted fair voting and cooperative politics since our beginning over twenty five years ago. We fully support the Citizens' Assembly recommendation to implement the Single Transferable Voting system for BC (BC-STV) and look forward to a legislature in Victoria free of the partisan rhetoric that obstructs progress"

Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU.org "Parliamentary Democracy - international organization of Parliaments of sovereign States ..guide to good practice ..to experiment with new ways of engaging with the public, including civil society, and enabling them to contribute to the legislative process" etc 1889 Geneva

Proportional Representation Society Of Australia "publicly supported STV, the quota-preferential PR option, at the 1992 plebiscite in New Zealand on whether its single-member electorate, relative-majority electoral procedure should be replaced. Voters were asked to vote on a multi-choice (unfortunately non-preferential) question on which of four options should replace it if it was to be changed. Mixed Member Proportional (MMP), the German party-list hybrid, which the PRSA considers a distinctly inferior approach to implementing the principle of proportional representation, was chosen. The PRSA opposes MMP as it is party-proportional only, and not proportional within individual electorates, with a majority of MPs being elected in single-member districts by first-past-the-post counting, and the large remainder indirectly from a party list.
Neither of those methods of electing MPs has the advantage of quota-preferential PR, by which all MPs have the same basis of election, each being directly elected by a quota of votes from a multi-member district. A 54% vote confirmed MMP at a 1993 national referendum. On 25th July 1997, New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, Hon. Winston Peters MP, was Guest Speaker at a PRSA meeting held in the Council Chamber of the University of Melbourne. He spoke on New Zealand's experience of MMP. [11 see Peters ref above under Wider NZ]
New Zealand Local Government: New Zealand, perhaps as a consolation prize to its citizens for going no further than its hybrid party-list system for national elections, has taken the bold step of providing a very advanced form of computerized quota-preferential counting as an option for local governments. The system used is the Meek system, which is designed to overcome some of the relatively minor anomalies that exist with simpler systems for counting quota-preferential proportional representation elections. The Meek method, devised by Brian Meek, a member of the Electoral Reform Society in Britain, is so labour-intensive that computer counting is required for its practical use. The Meek system is offered to municipalities as an alternative to the pre-existing quite crude first-past-the-post system" PRSA.org.au

STV around the world DIA.govt.nz links

Wikipedia Single transferable vote "has had its widest adoption in the English-speaking world.. used for the Australian Senate in the form of a group voting ticket, as well as certain regional and local elections in Australia.. pioneered in Tasmania, Australia, where it has been in constant use in lower house (House of Assembly) since the early 1900s.. held up by its supporters as being the best and fairest electoral system in the world, though political parties have often been resistant to adopting it because it requires candidates to compete publicly with one another, which is felt by some party members to damage party cohesion. Supporters feel that it is entirely appropriate that candidates make the case for their own election directly to the public" facts links etc + Law & Justice
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