Elections

Elections for the Queenstown Lakes District Council (Mayor and Councillors and Wanaka Community Board), Otago Regional Council, Southern District Health Board and Central Otago Health (Wanaka ward) are held every three years on the second Saturday in October. The next elections will be held on 12 October 2013.The Queenstown Lakes District Council will use the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system.

 Electoral Rolls

You need to be enrolled to vote in a local body election.

Residential Roll

All parliamentary electors are automatically enrolled on the local body electoral roll.

If you need to change any details on the residential electoral roll, you can either:

• complete the appropriate form at any post shop
• phone 0800 ENROLNOW (0800 367 656)
• send your name and address to Freetext 3676
• access the Electoral Enrolment Centre website on www.elections.org.nz

Ratepayer Roll

If you own property in the Queenstown Lakes District but you live somewhere else, you are still eligible to be enrolled on the non-resident ratepayer roll. If you were enrolled on the Non-resident Ratepayer Roll in the last election then you will be sent a Ratepayer Confirmation form in April 2013 to complete and return to the Council. New Enrolments can be made by contacting the Council’s Electoral Officer for a form or downloading the form via the link on the right. A company, corporation or society paying rates on a property in the district may nominate one of its members or officers as a ratepayer elector, as long as the nominated person resides outside of the area.

 Ward Details

There are 3 wards in the Queenstown Lakes District. They are:

• Queenstown/Wakatipu
• Arrowtown
• Wanaka 

Elected Member Representation

The Queenstown Lakes District will be represented by:

• 1 Mayor (district wide).
• 6 councillors to represent the Queenstown/Wakatipu Ward.
• 1 councillor to represent the Arrowtown Ward.
• 3 councillors to represent the Wanaka Ward.
• A Wanaka Community Board consisting of 4 board members and the 3 Wanaka Ward Councillors. 

Other elections

Elections will also be held for:

• Otago Regional Council (2 members for Dunstan constituency)
• Southern District Health Board (4 members for Otago constituency)
• Southern District Health Board (3 members for Southland constituency)
• Central Otago Health Inc (1 member for the Wanaka ward) 

Nominations

To be eligible to stand for election, a candidate must:

• be over 18 years of age, and
• be enrolled as a parliamentary elector anywhere in New Zealand, and
• be a New Zealand Citizen

Restrictions:

• You cannot stand for election to both Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Otago Regional Council
• You cannot stand for election to more than one ward within the Queenstown Lakes District Council

Also:

• Candidates must be nominated by two people who are on the electoral roll in the ward you wish to represent. Both signatures must be present on the nomination form. Candidates cannot nominate themselves.
• Candidates must supply a $200 deposit.
• Candidates can supply a candidate profile statement and photograph for insertion into the Candidate Profile Booklet.  This must be supplied at the same time as the nomination is lodged. 

 Nomination forms and Candidate Information Packs will be available from the council offices and this website in July.

 Contact the Electoral Officer

Any questions about the election can be directed to Jane Robertson, Electoral Officer, telephone (03) 441 0499 or email janer@qldc.govt.nz