A petition calling for the Local Government Commission (LCG) to investigate the option of separating the Upper Clutha from the Queenstown Lakes District Council and forming its own council has been created by a Wānaka resident.

On social media, Dean Rankin questioned whether the Upper Clutha was being fairly represented by the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) and suggested the local district could be better represented by its own district council.

Wānaka, Hāwea and the rest of the Upper Clutha are growing rapidly, he said, adding that while a nationwide review of local government was underway, now was a good time to raise the issue of a separate local council with the LGC.

Dean said he’s lived in Wānaka for 43 years and knows “a lot of people who would like to see us have our own council”. 

His petition says changes in the Upper Clutha district population size and demographics have made local governance by the QLDC ineffective and undemocratic; and that the apportionment of rates income by QLDC is not spent fairly or equitably in our district, putting us at an economic disadvantage to Queenstown.

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“Community confidence in QLDC is at such a low point that the residents are not engaging with the council. We do not feel represented,” Dean’s petition says, and referred to the High Court judicial review earlier this year that showed the QLDC had not consulted lawfully with Upper Clutha residents over Wānaka Airport lease arrangements.

He said his petition requires at least 10 per cent of eligible local voters’ support to have the LGC investigate and review the district’s representation. Eligible voters must be residents with a valid, local address and must be registered to vote on this district’s electoral roll.

New local authorities can be constituted under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Local Government Act. 2002.

This proposal is not the first time residents of the Upper Clutha have been involved in the realignment of borders and creation of new local councils. 

Residents of Cardrona Riding (which included Wānaka) were governed by Lake County Council but in 1986 they became constituents of the newly formed Queenstown Lakes District Council which was constituted when the Queenstown Borough Council merged with Lake County Council.

Three years later, in 1989, local government structures nationwide were significantly reformed by the LGC when about 700 councils and special purpose bodies were amalgamated to create 87 new local authorities.

This included the disintegration of the former Vincent County Council, which included residents of Hāwea, Albert Town, Luggate and Mt Barker as well as Tarras, Queensbury, Cromwell and so on. 

The new Central Otago District Council was created for those south of the border while the Upper Clutha residents were absorbed into the QLDC which was expanded to also amalgamate with the Arrowtown Borough Council.

Dean’s petition to breakaway from the QLDC comes hot on the heels of resurgent local support for Wānaka’s Community Board (WCB) which the QLDC has recommended be disestablished in its current Representation Review process.

The QLDC received over 300 submissions to its Representation Review; almost three quarters of which were from Upper Clutha residents with the majority demanding the WCB not only be retained but enhanced with better support from council staff and elected members.

Anyone interested in signing Dean’s petition for the LGC to review and investigate the representation of the Upper Clutha District can read more here.