Make sure you are enrolled to vote!
Voting packs are scheduled to be delivered by mail starting from the 9th of September and voting closes on the 11th of October.
The Electoral Commission’s website along with that of Waikato District Council contain a lot of useful information including details on how to enrol on the general and Māori roll, key dates and other important information. Official website guidance can be found here:
https://vote.nz/local-elections/about/local-elections-2025/
https://www.waikatodistrict.govt.nz/your-council/local-elections-2025
For Waikato District Council, you will have until 12 noon on Saturday 11 October 2025 to vote. It’s a postal vote with a return envelope provided, so make sure the completed voting paper is in the mail by 6th of October but completed voting papers may also be hand delivered to ballot boxes found at these locations from mid September up until noon on Saturday 11 October 2025:
Ngaruawahia Head Office, 15 Galileo Street, Ngaruawahia;
Huntly Office, 142 Main Street, Huntly;
Raglan Office, 7 Bow Street, Raglan;
Te Kauwhata Office, 1 Main Road, Te Kauwhata;
Tuakau Office, 2 Dominion Road, Tuakau.
I am asking for your vote…but more importantly that you vote! In the last elections, less than one in three eligible voters in the Waikato voted for a Mayor - third lowest voter turnout in NZ.
And the legacy of what we got is debt rising from $178.8 million to a projected $347 million IN JUST THREE YEARS under this new Mayor. The interest to be serviced along with depreciation to be funded will be the current Mayor's legacy that we will all have to live with for many years.
Yes, other councils across NZ increased debt and had high rate increases (averaging 15%, still high but a quarter lower than WDC's) but the increase of more than 80 additional senior staff on more than 100K each is not the norm and is not what has happened elsewhere. Focus on affordability was lost and must now be restored - it's time to stop this runaway freight train of rates. Many simply can't afford a cumulative increase in general rate component of over 19% and say they are being rated out of their homes. Those paying targeted rates for water and sewage facing an increase in just three years of around 40%.
That's why your vote matters. If you are happy to carry on with rocketing rate rises, vote for the status quo.
If like many that have made their voices heard through the recent LTP submissions you know that the rate rises that the current Mayor's leadership have driven - then vote for a change. We can't cut or defer projects our way to new efficiency and savings - we need a reset on how Council operates.
New and different ways of operating. Shared services with our neighboring councils, not only on Waters but across the board, must be given priority. Empowering communities so their voice, their choice and control see us return to a future we can actually afford.
