Mayors in New Zealand

Mayors each lead a territorial authority (pictured)

Mayors in New Zealand are the directly elected leaders of New Zealand's territorial authorities. They chair local council meetings and have limited executive powers, including the ability to appoint a deputy mayor, establish committees, and select chairpersons for said committees. Their constitutional role, as laid out in the Local Government Act 2002, is to provide leadership to their councillors and citizens of their districts, and to guide the direction of council plans and policies. Mayors are elected using either the first-past-the-post or single transferable vote system.

There are currently 67 mayors, and they are formally styled His/Her Worship.

History

Main article: Local government in New Zealand § History

19th century

Attempts to set up local government following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 were complicated by the small and spread out population of European settlers in New Zealand.^[1] Wellington had established and elected a municipal corporation in 1842, but the Colonial Office disestablished it. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 enabled municipal bodies to be created, though this legislation was suspended from 1848 for five years. Provincial legislative councils were set up based on the proposed provinces in the 1846 Act, though with both elected and unelected appointments they were seen as unsatisfactory towards the goal of self-rule.^[2]

Governor George Grey tried another attempt at local government in 1851; a Charter of Incorporation for Auckland which would be the first elected local body in the colony. It failed after less than a year.^[3] Archibald Clark served as the first mayor of Auckland for this brief period.^[4]

A second constitution act in 1852 established six provinces with powers over areas such as education, immigration, and tariffs. It was thought that these would suffice for local representation but municipal governments were created anyway in Auckland, Dunedin, and Christchurch.^[3] William Mason served as Dunedin's first mayor from 1865,^[5] whilst John Hall served as the first chairman of Christchurch Town Council from 1862.^[6] The powers of these authorities was legislated in 1867 with the Municipal Corporations Act, establishing responsibility over gasworks, libraries, and other public utilities.^[3] Suffrage for these bodies was limited to individual male property owners, which disenfranchised Māori as collective ownership was more common amongst them.^[3]

Provinces were abolished in 1876 and their powers were mostly transferred to central government. Municipal and local governments did see their powers expanded, with power to levy rates, manage local infrastructure such as roads, and manage local utilities like museums and libraries. Further expansion in powers occurred with the Municipal Corporations Act 1876.^[7]

20th century

An explosion in the number of local bodies had occurred to the point that by 1920 there were 625^[8] different authorities across the country. The Town Planning Act 1926 started a period of serious attempts at reforming local government. The act required the drafting of town planning schemes by boroughs with over 1000 people by 1 January 1930. The Great Depression hindered efforts though, with the requirement going unenforced.^[8]

The First Labour Government tried again to reform local government in 1936, but the bill got neglected as the Second World War dominated the agenda. The bill was picked up again in 1944, and in 1946 the Local Government Commission was set up. Its goal was to develop plans for the reorganisation of local authorities. The incoming First National Government in 1949 weakened the ability of the commission to enforce its plans.^[9]

669 local authorities existed in 1973, and the newly elected Third Labour Government set forth on reform, headed by Minister of Local Government Henry May. The powers of the Local Government Commission were increased and poll requirements to reject amalgamation plans were increased. 22 regional governments were set up, with elected bodies in Wellington and Auckland and appointed bodies elsewhere. The subsequent Third National Government again lessened the powers of the commission.^[10]

1989 reforms

Main article: 1989 New Zealand local government reforms

By 1987 hundreds of special purpose bodies and dozens of local and municipal authorities were in existence.^[11] The Fourth Labour Government initiated a major review, looking to change the structure of local government in the country in time for the 1989 local elections. An amendment to the Local Government Act 1974 was passed in 1989, establishing a new structure and constitutional arrangement for local government.^[12] Important developments included mandatory annual reports to be published publicly. A key factor of the reforms was ensuring public accountability in the new amalgamated authorities.^[13]

Powers and responsibilities

Currently, all of New Zealand's territorial authorities are headed by a directly-elected mayor. This set up goes back to the 1989 local government reforms.^[14] Prior to 1989, there were 850 authorities at various levels with varying powers and responsibilities. Now there are 78 bodies, 67 excluding regional councils (which do not have mayors).^[15]

When the councils surrounding Auckland were merged in 2010, a more defined set of powers for mayors in all parts of the country was implemented into the existing Local Government Act 2002.^[16] Mayors now could appoint deputy mayors, as well as designate which councillors would chair and lead the various committees that ran the business of council. These new powers did raise concern though, with no mayoral veto, councils where the mayor lacked majority support could crawl to a halt as councillors pushed against the agenda of the mayor. Such dysfunctionality has reportedly occurred in several councils, including recently in Wellington and Tauranga.^[17] These changes were not seen to effect the way mayors operated in actual practice.^[18]

Mayors in New Zealand are considered weak in terms of the level of executive power they can wield, as granted to them via legislation. Councils are empowered to endeavour to achieve the "four well-beings", specifically the social, environmental, cultural, and economic health of their communities. This has been described as the "power of general competence."^[19] In general, council responsibilities include local roads, water management, waste management, public services such as libraries, and district parks.^[20]

Mayors report that they utilise de facto powers to achieve their goals as leaders, including their ability to build relationships with their communities, other councillors, mana whenua, and central government. Achieving consensus is key to the ability of a mayor to govern.^[14] The relationship between a mayor and a council's chief executive officer was reported by mayors as important in shaping and delivering policy.^[21] Mayors who worked closely with their councillors, those that built personal relationships and trust, were more successful at seeing their policies and goals to fruition than those that took a more hard line, less co-operative approach. Councillors regarded informal conversations and meeting opportunities with the mayor as important.^[18]

Local authorities are granted "unusually" high levels of financial autonomy;^[19] councils are limited in their means of raising revenue, something at least one mayor pointed to as a concern as it can limit their ability to achieve policy goals.^[22] Unlike local bodies in other countries, the central government provides a minute fraction of a council's income, with upwards of 80% coming from rates.^[19]

Councillors and mayors in New Zealand are not usually affiliated with political parties,^[23] leading to challenges with reaching consensus amongst people elected on individual-mandates. The intrusion of party politics into local government is commonly seen as distasteful, though there has been a rise of affiliated candidates in Auckland and Christchurch since 2007.^[24] A balance must be navigated between the mandate given to the mayor from the public and the political reality of working with a team of disparate people.^[21]

Explicit corruption at the local level has not been seen to be a major issue, though the absence of a party structure has been seen as something that could lead to a greater risk of clientelism, with members potentially showing favour to supporters and disfavour to opponents. In a survey, 22% of councillors perceived mayors as using appointments in this way, whereas 17% of mayors said they did so.^[22]

It is common for former members of parliament running in local elections to run as independents, despite having been an elected member of a political party and retaining their party membership, leading to concerns over a lack of transparency and credibility.^[25]

Mayors face uncertainty in what their role can look like, in part due to central government involvement. Central government has appointed commissioners and other oversight mechanisms in the past when, in their view, a council was not functioning. This ability for central government to be involved has been linked to lessened interest amongst the general populace with local governance.^[22]

Mayors are expected to follow a code of conduct.^[22]

Legislation

The principal legislation outlining the formal and constitutional powers and responsibilities of the mayor is the Local Government Act 2002, specifically section 41A.^[21]

The mayor is to provide leadership to the councillors and people of the district,^[26] and to lead the development of the council's plans and policies.^[27] The explicit powers granted to the mayor are the ability to appoint a deputy mayor, the ability to establish council committees and appoint chairpersons to said committees.^[28] These powers are limited by councillors' explicit ability to remove the deputy mayor, and to discharge and/or create committees, as well as remove any chairpersons appointed by the mayor.^[29] The mayor is an ex officio member of all committees.^[30] The mayor cannot delegate any of their powers.^[31] If a mayor declines to use their powers to appoint a deputy or a chairperson, the provisions for their election are outlined in clause 17(1) of Schedule 7 and clauses 25 and 26(3) of Schedule 7, respectively.^[32]

Electoral system

Local government elections are held every three years. All mayors are currently elected at-large.^[19] News coverage of local elections tends to focus on the mayoral race, with higher profile elections and candidates for the mayoralty leading to higher turnout overall.^[15] The majority of elections since 1989 have been via postal voting.^[33]

Two electoral systems are used at the local level within New Zealand, first-past-the-post (FPP) and single transferable vote (STV).^[23] In FPP, voters pick one candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they have not achieved a majority. In STV, voters rank the candidates and then preferences are tallied. The candidate with the least votes is eliminated and their second preferences are divvied out. This continues until one candidate has a majority. Currently most local councils use FPP.^[25] Councils themselves can decide what system they will use at the next election.^[34] On average, elections with STV systems saw one additional candidate. Incumbent mayors are more likely to be defeated under STV. Māori candidates for local government positions who were on the Māori electoral roll were less successful than Māori and non-Māori on the general roll, whilst female candidates were more successful than male candidates. Women were under-nominated compared to men for local office relative to their population.^[35]

Candidates for mayor must meet the criteria that are required to be met by all local government candidates. These include being a citizen of New Zealand, securing the nominations of two people on the electoral roll within the area, and paying a deposit of $200.^[36]

Participation in local government elections has decreased over the past decade, with fewer people voting in subsequent elections. This has led to concerns around the extant to which democracy exists at the local level.^[19] The numerous examples of uncontested mayoral elections is seen as a symptom and cause of lowered turnout.^[37] There is the perception that local government serves ratepayers, the property owning class.^[15]

The most recent elections were held in 2022.^[38] Tauranga had a mayoral election in 2024 following a period under commission.^[39]

Demographics

There are currently 67 mayors.^[14] Mayors (and councillors generally) are disproportionally Pākehā and male. The Human Rights Commission has called the under-representation of Māori in local government "one of the top ten race relations challenges" in the country.^[20]

List of current mayors

Territorial Authority	Mayor		Affiliation	Elected	Pop. 2023[40]
Far North District		Moko Tepania	None	2022	71,430
Whangarei District		Vince Cocurullo	None	2022	96,678
Kaipara District		Craig Jepson	None	2022	25,899
Auckland		Wayne Brown	Fix Auckland	2022	1,656,486
Thames-Coromandel District		Len Salt	None	2022	31,995
Hauraki District		Toby Adams	None	2019	21,318
Waikato District		Jacqui Church	Independent	2022	85,968
Matamata-Piako District		Adrienne Wilcock	None	2022	37,098
Hamilton City		Paula Southgate	None	2019	174,741
Waipā District		Susan O'Regan	None	2022	58,686
Ōtorohanga District		Max Baxter	None	2013	10,410
South Waikato District		Gary Petley	None	2022	25,044
Waitomo District		John Robertson	Independent	2019	9,585
Taupō District		David Trewavas	None	2013	40,296
Western Bay of Plenty District		James Denyer	None	2022	56,184
Tauranga City		Mahé Drysdale	Strong Accountable Leadership	2024	152,844
Rotorua District		Tania Tapsell	None	2022	74,058
Whakatāne District		Victor Luca	None	2022	37,149
Kawerau District		Faylene Tunui	None	2022	7,539
Ōpōtiki District		David Moore	None	2022	10,089
Gisborne District		Rehette Stoltz	None	2019	51,135
Wairoa District		Craig Little	None	2013	8,826
Hastings District		Sandra Hazlehurst	None	2017	85,965
Napier City		Kirsten Wise	Independent	2019	64,695
Central Hawke's Bay District		Alex Walker	None	2016	15,480
New Plymouth District		Neil Holdom	None	2016	87,000
Stratford District		Neil Volzke	None	2009	10,149
South Taranaki District		Phil Nixon	None	2019	29,025
Ruapehu District		Weston Kirton	None	2022	13,095
Whanganui District		Andrew Tripe	None	2022	47,619
Rangitikei District		Andy Watson	Independent	2013	15,663
Manawatū District		Helen Worboys	None	2016	32,415
Palmerston North City		Grant Smith	Independent	2015	87,090
Tararua District		Tracey Collis	Tararua Stronger Together	2016	18,660
Horowhenua District		Bernie Wanden	None	2019	36,693
Kāpiti Coast District		Janet Holborow	None	2022	55,914
Porirua City		Anita Baker	Independent	2019	59,445
Upper Hutt City		Wayne Guppy	None	2001	45,759
Hutt City (Lower Hutt)		Campbell Barry	Labour	2019	107,562
Wellington City		Tory Whanau	Independent (Green endorsed)	2022	202,689
Masterton District		Gary Caffell	Masterton Matters	2022	27,678
Carterton District		Ron Mark	Independent	2022	10,107
South Wairarapa District		Martin Connelly	None	2022	11,811
Tasman District		Tim King	None	2019	57,807
Nelson City		Nick Smith	Independent	2022	52,584
Marlborough District		Nadine Taylor	None	2022	49,431
Buller District		Jamie Cleine	None	2019	4,215
Grey District		Tania Gibson	None	2019	10,446
Westland District		Helen Lash	None	2022	14,043
Kaikōura District		Craig Mackle	None	2019	8,901
Hurunui District		Marie Black	None	2019	13,608
Waimakariri District		Dan Gordon	None	2019	66,246
Christchurch City		Phil Mauger	Let's Get Stuff Done	2022	391,383
Selwyn District		Sam Broughton	None	2016	78,144
Ashburton District		Neil Brown	None	2019	34,746
Timaru District		Nigel Bowen	None	2019	47,547
Mackenzie District		Anne Munro	None	2022	5,115
Waimate District		Craig Rowley	None	2013	8,121
Chatham Islands		Monique Croon	None	2019	612
Waitaki District		Gary Kircher	Working For Waitaki	2013	23,472
Central Otago District		Tamah Alley	None	2016	24,306
Queenstown-Lakes District		Glyn Lewers	None	2022	47,808
Dunedin City		Jules Radich	Team Dunedin	2022	128,901
Clutha District		Bryan Cadogan	None	2010	18,315
Southland District		Rob Scott	None	2022	31,833
Gore District		Ben Bell	Team Hokonui	2022	12,711
Invercargill City		Nobby Clark	LETS GO Invercargill	2022	55,599

Notable mayors

Beyer with the Governor-General, Patsy Reddy, in 2020.

Georgina Beyer

Beyer (1957–2023) was the world's first openly transgender mayor.^[41] First elected to the Carterton District Council in 1993, she went on to win the mayoral elections of 1995 and 1998. She was later the Labour MP for Wairarapa from 1999 to 2005, and then a List MP until she retired in 2007.^[41]

Charles Mackay

Mackay (1875–1929) was mayor of Whanganui and a convicted attempted-murderer. In 1920, Mackay shot Walter D'Arcy Cresswell, after Cresswell allegedly threatened to out Mackay as a homosexual following alleged advances by Mackay towards Cresswell.^[42]

Percy Murphy

Murphy (1924–2009) was the country's first Māori mayor. His iwi was Ngāti Manawa and he was their last member to serve as a soldier in the 28th Māori Battalion, having enlisted at the age of 16. He served on the Murupara Borough Council and then was the mayor of Murupara from 1960 to 1969. He was very involved with his iwi and his marae after being mayor.^[43]

Tim Shadbolt

Shadbolt (b. 1947) is the country's longest-serving mayor and a national icon. He served for eight terms as mayor of Invercargill, almost continuously since first being elected in 1993.^[44] He was also previously mayor of Waitemata.^[45] He failed to win re-election in 2022.^[44]

Elizabeth Yates

Yates (1840–1918) was the first female mayor in the British Empire. After her husband stood down as mayor of Onehunga, she was nominated for the office and then stood in and won the 1893 mayoral election against only one other opponent. She received congratulations from Premier Richard Seddon and Queen Victoria. She lost the subsequent 1894 election, serving less than a year.^[46]

See also

• Elections in New Zealand
• Local government in New Zealand
• Mayor–council government

References

1. Drage 2002, p. 118.
2. Drage 2002, p. 119.
3. Drage 2002, p. 120.
4. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]. The Cyclopedia Company (republished by Victoria University of Wellington). p. 103.
5. Stacpoole, John (1990). "Mason, William". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
6. Gardner, W. J. (1990). "Hall, John". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
7. Drage 2002, p. 121.
8. Drage 2002, p. 123.
9. Drage 2002, p. 124.
10. Drage 2002, p. 125.
11. Drage 2002, p. 127.
12. Drage 2002, p. 130.
13. Drage 2002, p. 131.
14. Mahoney 2021, p. 80.
15. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 83.
16. Mahoney 2021, p. 80–81.
17. Mahoney 2021, p. 81.
18. Mahoney 2021, p. 84.
19. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 80.
20. Vowles & Hayward 2021, p. 231.
21. Mahoney 2021, p. 82.
22. Mahoney 2021, p. 83.
23. Vowles & Hayward 2021, p. 226.
24. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 84.
25. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 88.
26. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(1).
27. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(2)
28. Local Government Act 2022, s 41A(3)
29. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(4)
30. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(5)
31. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(6)
32. Local Government Act 2002, s 41A(7)
33. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 85.
34. Vowles & Hayward 2021, p. 230.
35. Vowles & Hayward 2021, p. 234–235.
36. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 89.
37. Asquith, Webster & Cardow 2021, p. 87.
38. "Key dates". Vote 2022 – Local Elections. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
39. Kirkby-McLeod, Libby (20 July 2024). "Tauranga by-election results: Olympian Mahé Drysdale set to become mayor". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
40. "2023 Census population counts (by ethnic group, age, and Māori descent) and dwelling counts". StatsNZ. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
41. "World's first openly transgender mayor and MP, Georgina Beyer, has died". Radio New Zealand. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
42. Broughton, W. S. (1996). "Mackay, Charles Ewing". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
43. NZPA (5 May 2009). "NZ's first Maori mayor dies". NZHerald. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
44. Sowman-Lund, Stewart (30 November 2023). "Invercargill Airport to be renamed for Tim Shadbolt". The Spinoff. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
45. "'End of an era': Sir Tim Shadbolt farewelled in his most likely last meeting as Invercargill mayor". Stuff. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
46. Mogford, Janice C. (1993). "Yates, Elizabeth". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 August 2024.

Sources

• Mahoney, Seán (25 November 2021). "Leading Locally: How New Zealand's mayors get things done". Policy Quarterly. 17 (4): 80–86. doi:10.26686/pq.v17i4.7324.
• Local Government Act 2002.

• Asquith, Andy; Webster, Karen; Cardow, Andrew (28 June 2021). "Voting in New Zealand local government elections: the need to encourage greater voter turnout". Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance (24): 79–97. doi:10.5130/cjlg.vi24.7541. hdl:10292/14725.
• Vowles, Jack; Hayward, Janine (September 2021). "Ballot structure, district magnitude and descriptive representation: the case of New Zealand local council elections". Australian Journal of Political Science. 56 (3): 225–244. doi:10.1080/10361146.2021.1935449. ISSN 1036-1146.
• Drage, Jean (2002). Empowering Communities? Representation and Participation in New Zealand's Local Government. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 9780864734372.