July 30, 2026While the Upper Hutt City Council may not exist by the time the next local election rolls around, the law dictates it needs to decide whether to include Māori seats on the ballot in 2028 and 2031. In the South Island, Waimakariri District Council in Canterbury also needed to start a review for the 2028 election. “Council has been advised that it must continue meeting its current representation review obligations,” an Upper Hutt council spokesperson said. “If future legislation or a confirmed reorganisation supersedes the arrangements developed through this review, Council will respond to those changes at that time.” If ministers were unhappy about Wellington’s amalgamation proposal, they could throw the region to the “backstop” and decide what the region’s governing structure would look like.