Nationally, 450 objections were made to the Representation Commission by its appeal deadline and the draft southern boundaries garnered the second highest number of complaints, behind Auckland.
A combined 21 people across Dunedin opposed the new borders of Dunedin North and Dunedin South, most objecting to Otago Peninsula being swallowed northwards.
There were 16 complaints about the Clutha-Southland boundaries and many people called for the creation of a new seat based around the central lakes region.
There was also a spirited insurrection about Invercargill’s suggested new borders, where most of the 17 objectors did not wish to see Winton moved to that electorate from its current seat of Clutha-Southland.
Southland District Council councillor Darren Frazer said including Winton within Invercargill was grouping together very different groups of people and needs.
‘‘Winton will miss out as a small part of a city seat, as opposed to how it sits how in a rural area made of mostly rural people, strong connections and similar issues across the seat, which won’t be the case when combining with the city.’’
Virginia Gray noted Winton had been in a Clutha-based seat since the 19th century, and four of its MPs had been Winton residents, while Lyndsay McDonald submitted that Winton’s role as a service town for farming meant it sat better in Clutha-Southland.
‘‘We do not have a community of interest with Invercargill, and our needs in terms of services will be very much subordinated to Invercargill and Bluff, whose needs are quite different.’’
Clutha District Council made a lengthy submission opposing boundary changes which, if enacted, would split the area between three electorates.
‘‘The proposed boundary realignment has been done in a manner that ... involves some indiscriminate and unnecessary changes,’’ Mayor Bryan Cadogan said.
‘‘In particular, the proposal to ‘swap’ 12,200 people currently living in the Clutha-Southland electorate for 10,300 people currently living in the Waitaki electorate makes little sense in terms of continuity or defining communities of interest.’’
Queenstown-based Otago Regional councillor Alexa Forbes noted that Queenstown and Wanaka were combined in the same territorial authority and within the ORC, but were split at national electorate level.
‘‘This makes no sense at all and makes it incredibly difficult for its common interests to be represented nationally,’’ she said.
‘‘Queenstown and Wanaka, combined with Te Anau and Cromwell, are a community of interest (tourism) and should be treated as such.’’
Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope said the peninsula had become reliant on the services, economy, recreation and social connections within the Dunedin South area, and had no affinity with Dunedin North.
‘‘It seems completely counterintuitive to move the people who shop, bank, undertake business, play sport and educate their children in the Dunedin South electorate to one that they have no connection to.’’
People can comment on the objections until January 24.
The Representation Commission will then consider all submissions before in April releasing final electorate boundaries and names for the 2020 and 2023 elections.
