View objections and counter-objections

Objection

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Cameron McCarthy

Moving ashhurst to wairarapa. Ashhurst is a commuter village to palmerston north, so why would ashhurst be added to the district over the ranges

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Objection

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Bronwyn Wycherley

I object to Ashhurst being included in the Waiarapa electorate. The physical divide of the ranges makes it illogical i.e. weather differences, employment differences, infrastructure differences.

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Objection

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Mrs Lorna Maurer

I object to Ashhurst being moved from Rangitikei to Wairarapa

Objection

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Mrs Janelle Kibby

I’m objecting the proposed change for Ashhurst from the Rangitikei electorate to the Wairarapa electorate. Myself and many others who live in Ashhurst travel to Palmerston North and other communities in the Rangitikei for work, school, sports and community facilities such as the library, swimming pools and parks as well as community events. The Wairarapa is on the other side of the ranges and going to the there for any of this would just not make sense geographically, nor would it be feasible for many residents due to travel times, distance and costs.

Because of this, I don’t believe an MP based in the wairarapa would be able to suitably represent the Ashhurst community. Going to see them would be difficult and it is unlikely they would have any regular presence in our community.

• Janelle Kibby snapshot 1743747848 0 (png 285 KB)

Objection

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Teresa Watson

I do not believe that Ashhurst should change electorate. The current Rangitikei electorate is appropriate and changing Ashhurst to Tararua is odd given the rest of the electorate is on the other side of the ranges to Ashhurst.

• Teresa Watson snapshot 1743749620 0 (png 283 KB)

Objection

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Ms Rochelle Grant

We are 15 mins away from Palmerston North, and 20mons from Feilding, to have us under wairarapa makes absolutely no sense!!

• Rochelle Grant snapshot 1743770474 0 (png 247 KB)

Objection

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Cornelia Visser

Objecting to moving Ashhurst to Wairarapa as there are major infrastructural and topographical barriers between these areas and there are no links with these two communities.

Objection

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Mr. Mike Jacques

I object to our electorate being transferred from Rangitikei to Wairarapa .. Wairarapa is on the other side of the ranges from us and further from our area than Rangitikei

Objection

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Mrs Jo Horne

Ashhurst should not be joining the wairarapa electorate and stay within the rangitaki.
Ashhurst has nothing to do with the wairarapa and is on the otherside of the ranges.

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Objection

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Sam Hill

Electorate B. I object to Ashhurst being moved into Wairarapa. It makes no sense whatsoever geographically or politically.

Objection

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Brent Barrett

My Objection & Reasons

This Objection is raised in my personal capacity, although I understand it generally aligns with the Objection filed by Palmerston North City Council and Objections filed by many of my constituents, especially those residing in Ashhurst.
Serving as a Palmerston North City Councillor since 2016, and residing in this community from 2000 onwards, I am closely familiar with the areas in consideration at the nexus of the proposed Palmerston North, Rangitīkei and Wairarapa Electorate boundaries, and in particular the village of Ashhurst within Palmerston North City and other rural villages within the city boundary including Linton, Longburn and Bunnythorpe.

I am strongly supportive of the revision of the Palmerston North Electorate to include most of the people within the City of Palmerston North, and desirous that it should include all the people within the city. In particular the inclusion of Summerhill and Aokautere is welcome as these are urban and peri-urban communities, strongly connected within the city.

I understand that under census data, current modelling forecasts and assumptions, the Palmerston North Electorate is unable to accommodate all residents of the city and remain within the 5% threshold, and that this may have contributed in part to the surprising proposal to reassign Ashhurst from the Rangitīkei Electorate to the Wairarapa
Electorate.

Wairarapa is and has only ever been places and peoples east of the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges. As such the proposal to consign Ashhurst to the Wairarapa is a major deviation from accepted places, communities and connections including political connections that have been in place since the inception of democracy in Aotearoa New
Zealand. While recognising the complexity of the challenges faced by the Representation Commission, I strongly object to the proposed assignment of Ashhurst to the Wairarapa electorate.

My reasons to object include:

Existing Electorate Boundaries

The present inclusion of Ashhurst in Rangitīkei enables residents to access in person electorate office services in Feilding, relatively close at 15 - 20 minutes by car, and within an hour by bus via Palmerston North. While technically possible that a Wairarapa MP could invest in basing delivery of electorate office services in Ashhurst or even Woodville, such services are very much more likely to be sited in Masterton or further into southern Wairarapa. This places such services over an hour one way by car, and practically inaccessible by public transport.

As such, the proposed assignment of Ashhurst to Wairarapa substantially disadvantages residents of Ashhurst in terms of access to electorate office services relative to options retaining their political voice on the west of the ranges..

Communities of Interest

Ashhurst residents generally enjoy a markedly stronger affinity and connection to communities within Palmerston North and Manawatū than to communities in the Wairarapa. This includes but is not limited to family, social, employment, health, education, recreation and cultural connections. There are no general cases where Ashhurst residents have stronger connections east to Wairarapa communities than to Palmerston North and Manawatū.
These western connections are reinforced by Ashhurst being within Palmerston North City boundaries for Local Government elections, and formerly being within Manawatū District Council boundaries.

Ashhurst has no history of formal political connection with Wairarapa at the Local or Parliamentary level. From what I hear from constituents, there is no desire to begin one now.

As such, the proposed assignment of Ashhurst to Wairarapa substantially diminishes Ashhurst residents’ connection to their strongest communities of interest.

Infrastructure that links communities, such as roads and bridges

While Te Ahu a Turanga replacement for the Gorge Road is relatively safe and accessible as the fresh State Highway 3 segment linking east - west over the southern fringe of the Ruahine Ranges, it still leaves Ashhurst quite separate from the Wairarapa.

The cost and time and effort to get from Ashhurst to Palmerston North or Feilding is generally less than the effort required to get into populated places in the Wairarapa.

There are no regional public transport services linking Ashhurst to Wairarapa. There are adequate public transport services and many more road network options for Ashhurst residents to access neighbouring communities in Palmerston North and Manawatū.

As such, the proposed assignment of Ashhurst to Wairarapa runs substantially counter to the balance of physical and especially transport infrastructure and linkages.

Topographic features such as mountains and rivers

Ashhurst is on the west side of the Ruahine and Tararua ranges, as is the rest of Palmerston North and Manawatū. This strongly reinforces Ashhurst’s depth and diversity of connections in these communities.

Wairarapa as a place has only ever referred to the geographic places east of the Ruahine and Tararua ranges. Until this proposal, the political geography has matched the physical geography. Extension of the political construct of Wairarapa to absorb Ashhurst would be a substantial violation of the natural geography and physical and social structures of the areas concerned. It would be akin to the absorption of Wanaka into West Coast - Tasman, or of Upper Hutt into Wairarapa. It simply makes no sense.

As such, the proposed assignment of Ashhurst to Wairarapa runs counter to the clear geographic east-west boundary of the Tararua and Ruahine axial ranges.

• Barrett Objection to proposed Electoral Boundaries 2025 (pdf 84 KB)

Objection

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Jacquie Hartley

I object to Ashhurst moving out of the Palmerston North electorate to Waiarapa as we are no where near there, all of our coucil services are in Palmerston North and I don't believe a Waiarapa MP would have the people of Ashhurst as a priority.

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Objection

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Frances Wildbore

It doesn't make sense to move Ashhurst into the Wairarapa District. We are part of the Manawatu - We are under Palmerston North District Council for all our rates and fees that relate to this. We have no association with the Wairarapa which is across the ranges. The only thing connecting us to this area is the fact that the new highway links the area. We have more connection and history with the way it is now. DO NOT CHANGE IT!! Why would we want people who have no previous association with us making choices for our electorate when we are separate from the rest? We want thought out and meaningful representation which this proposal neglects in geographically linking us with an area we are not part of.

• Frances Wildbore snapshot 1744408397 0 (png 79 KB)

Objection

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Mr Kevin Maurer

Ashhurst is proposed to move to Wairarapa electorate to which I object. The needs and requirements for ashhurst are not best met by an electorate so far removed.

• Kevin Maurer snapshot 1744490994 0 (png 135 KB)

Objection

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Liz Chandler

Ashhurst should not be part of the Wairarapa electorate. It has nothing in common with an electorate that goes down to south Wairarapa and up to Central Hawkes' Bay