Queenstown Lakes and Cromwell might still get their own Otago Regional Council constituency after councillors agreed yesterday to relook at the boundaries in 2027.

The Local Government Commission last week upheld the regional council’s recommendation to keep boundaries the same, and increase the Dunstan ward to four elected members.

Queenstown Lakes district Mayor Glyn Lewers appealed the regional council’s proposal, but the commission agreed it was worthwhile the ORC revisit the issue by looking at the population data again in two years time.

A report to council by general manager strategy and customer Amanda Vercoe, said the commission noted the region’s population growth and its distribution was an issue the regional council needed to actively monitor from a representation point of view. 

In its review of representation consideration was given to the current constituencies, but with the transfer of one member from the Dunedin Constituency to the Dunstan Constituency.

The creation of an ‘Upper Lakes’ constituency comprising Queenstown Lakes District and the Cromwell Ward of Central Otago District was considered.

The commission said in its decision the geographic scale of the existing Dunstan constituency created too many divergent needs to consider the whole population as one community of interest.

The population growth of the constituency, and in particular Queenstown Lakes was acknowledged, as was Mayor Lewer's arguments about the similarities of Queenstown, Wanaka and Cromwell.

The Local Government Commission has suggested the ORC relook at its boundaries and population growth again in two years. FILE SHOT

But the commission had some issues about creating a non-complaint constituency (the residual Dunstan Constituency) to provide the remainder of the district with separate representation. 

“We also have qualms about whether the residual Dunstan Constituency would receive more effective representation through electing one member compared to the current four members.”

Dunstan ward councillor Gary Kelliher told council yesterday the two Mayors (Queenstown and Dunedin) appeals were “presumptuous” and “unreasonable.”

He was backed by fellow Dunstan ward councillor Michael Laws who said Mayor Lewers’ quote “you have to live in an area to serve it,’’ was ironic given he was so Queenstown-centric that Wanaka - being further from Queenstown than Cromwell, would escape his argument

as well.

Cr Laws complimented chair Gretchen Robertson on successfully representing the regional council’s case and refuting those arguments.

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