Environment Canterbury - Candidate Information Booklet 2019 Local Government Elections

 
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Environment Canterbury - Candidate Information Booklet 2019 Local Government Elections
Environment Canterbury

Candidate
Candidate Information
          Information Booklet
                      Booklet
2019
2019 Local
     Local Government
           Government Elections
                      Elections
Environment Canterbury - Candidate Information Booklet 2019 Local Government Elections
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Contents
Introduction                                                     4    Election Signage                                                     20
    Electoral Officer Appointment                                4        NZTA Guidelines for Managing Electioneering Signs on
    About electionz.com                                          4        State Highways                                                   20
    Electoral Officer & Deputy Electoral Officer                 4    Voting and Processing of Votes                                       21
    Role of Electoral Officer                                    5        Order of Candidates on the Voting Papers                         21
    Election Principles                                          5        Special Voting                                                   21
Election Timetable                                               6        Early Processing of Returned Voting Papers                       21
    Candidate Information Presentation                           6        Election Results                                                 22
Election Issues                                                  7        Recounts and Petitions for Inquiry                               22
    Population Statistics                                        7    Constituency Maps                                                    23
Governance Information                                           8        Canterbury Regional Council Constituencies 2019                  23
    Council’s Responsibilities                                   8        Canterbury Regional Council Constituencies - Christchurch
                                                                          Detail 2019                                                      24
    Councillor – Base role description                           8
                                                                      Appendix 1 - Candidate Profile Statements                            25
    Additional Information                                       8
                                                                          Local Authority Elections 2019                                   25
    Members Interests                                            9
                                                                          Duties, Powers and Responsibilities of Electoral Officers        25
    Members’ Remuneration                                        9
                                                                          Distribution of Candidate Profile Statement                      25
    Health and Safety at Work Act 2015                           9
                                                                      Appendix 2 - Return of Electoral Donations and Expenses              26
    Inaugural Meeting                                           10
                                                                      Appendix 3 - Electoral Expenses and Donations                        27
    Pre-election Report                                         10
                                                                      Appendix 4 - Scrutineers                                             30
Electoral Systems                                               10
                                                                          Role of Scrutineers                                              30
Electoral Roll                                                  11
                                                                          Appointment of Scrutineers                                       30
Candidate Eligibility                                           11
                                                                          Declaration                                                      30
Nominations                                                     12
                                                                          Information to be Supplied by Electoral Officer                  31
    Completion of Nomination Paper                              12
                                                                          Arrangements for Roll Scrutiny, Preliminary and Official
    Submitting the Nomination Documents                         12        Counts and any Recount                                           31
    Candidate Details                                           13        Restrictions on Scrutineers During Election and Poll
    Nomination Deposits                                         13        Processes                                                        31
Candidate Withdrawals                                           13        Conduct of Scrutineer                                            32
    Candidates who have a Protection of Property Rights Court             Offences                                                         32
    Order                                                       13    Appendix 5 - Appointment of Scrutineer                               33
Candidate Profile Statements                                    14    Appendix 6 - Election Offences                                       34
    Translations                                                14        Local Electoral Act 2001                                         34
    Candidate Photos                                            14        General Provisions                                               37
    Correctness of Profile Statements                           15
Campaigning, Council Resources and Social Media                 16
    Council Resources                                           16
    Election Advertising                                        16
    Advertising Standards Code for Campaign Material            16
    Campaign Expenditure Limits                                 16
    Return of Electoral Expenses                                17
    Social Media Guidelines for Candidates                      18

Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this booklet is accurate and consistent with
the Local Electoral Act 2001 and its amendments. Environment Canterbury takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. It is
recommended that candidates obtain a full copy of the Act, which can be purchased from any Government Bookstore or viewed on-line at
www.legislation.govt.nz.

                                                                                                                                             3
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Introduction
The Canterbury Regional Council is referred to as Environment           About electionz.com
Canterbury throughout this booklet.                                     electionz.com provides public and private sector election services
This booklet outlines information which may be of interest to           for council, producer boards, companies, associations, non-profit
potential candidates and others interested in election issues           organisations, schools, universities and companies.
with general information on the election. It should be used as          For the 2019 local body elections electionz.com will be processing
a guide only, and candidates or other persons requiring more            voting papers for forty two local authorities, using both First
detailed information should contact the electoral officer or            Past the Post (FPP) and Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting
deputy electoral officer directly. No responsibility is taken for the   methods. The processing of voting papers is being carried out in
accuracy of information in this booklet or candidates’ failure to       Christchurch.
comply with legislative requirements.
                                                                        Additionally, for the 2019 triennial elections electionz.com will
The Local Electoral Act 2001 (LEA), its amendments and                  be providing electoral officer services to thirty two district or city
regulations, is the presiding legislation for local government          councils, four regional councils and ten district health boards.
elections. It covers all matters pertaining to the conduct of the
elections including voting methods, voting systems, nomination          In addition to local government election processing, electionz.com
requirements, electoral roll requirements, length of voting period      also provides returning officer services as well as internet voting,
and progressive processing period, candidate profiles, offences,        internet surveys, and telephone voting on contract to private and
and campaign expenditure limits. All candidates should familiarise      public organisations.
themselves with the LEA and the information as set out in this
document.                                                               Electoral Officer & Deputy Electoral Officer
Copies of the LEA and its regulations are available from the            Anthony Morton has extensive local government and electoral
Government Bookshop, or they can be viewed online at                    officer experience. He has worked in excess of 20 years for various
www.legislation.govt.nz.                                                South Island councils in Waimate, Oamaru and Southland before
                                                                        joining electionz.com in 2000. Since joining electionz.com he has
Electoral Officer Appointment                                           worked on more than 1,000 elections for many public and private
                                                                        organisations in NZ, including Fonterra Co-operative Group, Beef
Environment Canterbury has engaged electionz.com Ltd as it’s            & Lamb New Zealand, TECT, Ballance Agri-nutrients, Ravensdown,
election contractor for the 2019 local body elections.                  DairyNZ, The Co-operative Bank, Fish & Game NZ, NZ Teachers
As part of that contract, Anthony Morton, has been appointed            Council etc.
electoral officer by the Council.                                       Siân Daly is the Team Leader Governance Services for
                                                                        Environment Canterbury, situated in the Christchurch office.
                                                                        She has extensive knowledge of local and central government
                                                                        electoral processes and over 10 years’ experience in governance
                                                                        and strategy leadership roles.
                                                                        Electoral Officer
                                                                        Anthony Morton, electionz.com Ltd, PO Box 3138,
                                                                        CHRISTCHURCH.
                                                                        Phone: 0800 666 048
                                                                        Fax: 03 377 1474
                                                                        Email: ecan@electionz.com
                                                                        Deputy Electoral Officer
                                                                        Siân Daly, Environment Canterbury (Christchurch Office)
                                                                        PO Box 345, Christchurch 8140.
                                                                        Phone: 03 367 7342
                                                                        Email: sian.daly@ecan.govt.nz

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Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Role of Electoral Officer                                               Election Principles
The role of the electoral officer (EO) is to conduct the election in    The electoral principles contained in section 4 of the LEA are
accordance with the legislation.                                        outlined below. The principles must be taken into account in the
The EO has complete and final control over how the election is          conduct of any election or poll.
carried out. The EO is employed by Council and is accountable           “4 Principles
to the chief executive of the Council, but does not take direction      (1) The principles that this Act is designed to implement are the
from the CE, or elected or appointed members.                               following:
The EO is responsible for all staff, systems, resources, policies,          (a) fair and effective representation for individuals and
procedures and actions to ensure that the democratic process                    communities:
is carried out with utmost integrity, security and fairness for all
                                                                            (b) all qualified persons have a reasonable and equal
parties.
                                                                                opportunity to —
The conduct of local body elections is strictly regulated by
                                                                                (i) cast an informed vote:
legislation including:
                                                                                (ii) nominate 1 or more candidates:
• Local Electoral Act 2001
                                                                                (iii) accept nomination as a candidate:
• Local Electoral Regulations 2001
                                                                            (c) public confidence in, and public understanding of, local
• Local Government Act 2002
                                                                                electoral processes through—
• Sale of Liquor Act 1989
                                                                                (i) the provision of a regular election cycle:
• NZ Public Health and Disability Act 2000
                                                                                (ii) the provision of elections that are managed
• Local Authorities (Members Interests) Act 1968                                      independently from the elected body:
Specific duties of the electoral officer as outlined in Section 15 of           (iii) protection of the freedom of choice of voters and the
the Local Electoral Act are:                                                          secrecy of the vote:
• The compilation and certification of electoral rolls                          (iv) the provision of transparent electoral systems and
• The publication of any public notice relating to elections and                      voting methods and the adoption of procedures that
    polls                                                                             produce certainty in electoral outcomes:
• Calling for and receiving nominations, candidate profile                      (v) the provision of impartial mechanisms for resolving
    statements and deposits                                                           disputed elections and polls.
• Issuing and receiving of ordinary and special votes                   (2) Local authorities, electoral officers, and other electoral
• Processing and counting of votes                                          officials must, in making decisions under this Act or any
                                                                            other enactment, take into account those principles specified
• Declaration of results
                                                                            in subsection (1) that are applicable (if any), so far as is
• Receiving and dealing with returns of electoral expenses.                 practicable in the circumstances.”
Queries regarding the actions or performance of the electoral
officer for Environment Canterbury should be directed to
Miles McConway, Director Finance and Corporate Services, on
0800 324 636.

                                                                                                                                                 5
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Election Timetable
                                              2019 Local Government Election Timetable
 From 1 July (Monday)                          2019 Nomination documents available
 15 July (Monday)                              Candidate Information Presentation – 5.30pm. See details below.
 From 17 July (Wednesday)                      Public notice of election – The Press and various regional papers
 19 July (Friday)                              Nominations open, electoral roll open for inspection
 16 August (Friday)                            Nominations close at 12 noon, Electoral roll closes
 From 21 August (Wednesday)                    Further public notice of election – The Press and various regional papers
 By 23 August (Friday)                         EO receives final electoral roll data
 16 September (Monday)                         EO compiles and certifies final electoral roll
 20 September (Friday)                         Enrolment Services letter sent to electors on unpublished roll
                                               Delivery of ordinary voting documents starts
 20 September (Friday)
                                               Ordinary and special voting opens
 20 September to 12 October                    Voting period
 11 October (Friday)                           Last day for appointment of scrutineers–by 12 noon
                                               Election Day–voting closes at 12 noon
 12 October 2019 (Saturday)
                                               Progress results available as soon as practicable after close of voting
 12 – 17 October                               Official count – process special votes
                                               Final results announced
 17 October to 27 October
                                               Public notice of official declaration of election result – The Press and various regional
 (as soon as practicable)
                                               papers
                                               Return of election expense declaration forms
 By 18 December (Wednesday)
                                               (55 days after date of declaration of results)

Candidate Information Presentation
A presentation on the 2019 election process will be given in the Environment Canterbury office, 200 Tuam Street, Christchurch at
5.30pm on Monday 15 July 2019. Items to be covered will include how the council is structured, the role and responsibilities of elected
representatives, the skills required, anticipated time commitments and meeting schedules and an overview of the nomination and election
processes.
For further information please contact Siân Daly on (03) 367 7342.

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Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Election Issues
In 2010 the Environment (Temporary Commissioners and                     Population Statistics
Improved Water Management) Act 2010 was enacted by
Parliament. This Act provided for Environment Canterbury’s                                                            Est Resident Population
elected members to be replaced by commissioners appointed                 Constituencies
                                                                                                                        as at 30 June 2018*
by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of
Local Government. Consequently, elections for members of                  North Canterbury/Ōpukepuke                             77,300
Environment Canterbury were not to be held in 2010 and 2013.              Christchurch North East/Ōrei                          102,100
In 2016, the Environment Canterbury (Transitional Governance
Arrangements) Act 2016 was enacted by Parliament. That                    Christchurch West/Ōpuna                                98,500
legislation meant that for the 2016 local body elections, six
members were elected, with the remaining six governance                   Christchurch Central/Ōhoko                            104,900
positions on the council appointed by the Government, two of              Christchurch South/Ōwhanga                             83,110
which were recommended by Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
There is no over-riding legislation affecting the 2019 triennial local    Mid-Canterbury/Ōpakihi                                 96,700
body elections for Environment Canterbury. In 2018 the council            South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi                             61,600
conducted a representation review which has now been approved
by the Local Government Commission. Under those provisions,
                                                                         * Dept of Statistics–2018
the election of 14 councillors will be carried out in October on the
following basis:                                                         These elections will be conducted by postal voting.
a) two councillors to represent the North Canterbury/Ōpukepuke
    Constituency
b) two councillors to represent the Christchurch North East/ Ōrei
    Constituency
c) two councillors to represent the Christchurch West/Ōpuna
    Constituency
d) two councillors to represent the Christchurch Central/Ōhoko
    Constituency
e) two councillors to represent the Christchurch South/Ōwhanga
    Constituency
f) two councillors to represent the Mid-Canterbury/Ōpakihi
    Constituency
g) two councillors to represent the South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi
    Constituency.

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Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Governance Information
Council’s Responsibilities                                             issues pertaining to the council
Regional councils’ responsibilities include –                        • Maintaining contact with community representatives and
• Sustainable regional well-being.                                     other local stakeholders
• Managing the effects of using freshwater, land, air and coastal    • Participating in any relevant consultative processes with the
   waters, by developing regional policy statements and the            local community and/or other organisations.
   issuing of consents.                                              Governance
• Managing rivers, mitigating soil erosion and flood control.        • Participating constructively and effectively in the good
• Regional emergency management and civil defence                      governance of the council as a whole
   preparedness.                                                     • Understanding and ensuring that basic principles of good
• Regional land transport planning and contracting passenger           governance are a part of the decision-making approach of the
   services.                                                           council
• Harbour navigation and safety, oil spills and other marine         • Understanding and respecting the differing roles of the
   pollution.                                                          chairperson, committee chairs and councillors
                                                                     • Recognising that the governance role does not extend
Councillor – Base role description                                     to operational matters or to the management of any
                                                                       implementation
Collective duties of the council
                                                                     • Having a good understanding of the council processes set out
• Representing the interests of the council                            in the Standing Orders that determine how council meetings
• Formulating the council’s strategic direction and relative           are run
  priorities through the Long Term Plan (LTP), which determines      • Developing and maintaining a working knowledge of council
  the services and activities to be undertaken by council over a       services, management processes, powers, duties and
  ten-year period                                                      constraints
• Determining the expenditure and funding requirements               • Participating in the setting and monitoring of council policies,
  of council activities through the LTP and annual planning            budgets, strategies and service delivery through annual and
  processes                                                            long-term planning processes
• Overseeing, developing and/or approving all council policies,      • Ensuring familiarity with agendas and other council reports
  administrative, legal, financial and strategic, including formal     before council meetings
  regional, planning matters within the council’s geographical
  area of responsibility                                             • Being familiar with and complying with the statutory
                                                                       requirements of an elected councillor
• Monitoring the ongoing performance of council against its
  stated objectives and policies (including formal sign-off of the   • Complying with the Code of Conduct adopted by the council
  Annual Report)                                                     • Identifying, being aware of and declaring any potential
• Ensuring prudent use of council resources                            personal conflicts of interest, whether of a pecuniary or non-
                                                                       pecuniary nature.
• Law-making (bylaws)
• Overseeing council compliance with any relevant Acts of            Additional Information
  Parliament
• Employing, setting performance requirements for, and               Core Competencies
  monitoring the ongoing performance of the council’s Chief          • Genuine interest, understanding (and passion) of/for the
  Executive. (Under the Local Government Act 2002, the local           issues faced by Environment Canterbury citizens.
  authority employs the Chief Executive who, in turn, employs        • Ability to relate to wide range of people at many levels and
  all other staff on its behalf – elected members of council have      across many disciplines and cultures.
  no responsibilities for, and cannot direct, any staff employed     • Ability to hear and understand the varying positions of others
  by the council other than the Chief Executive.)                      and consider these in decision making.
Representation and advocacy                                          • Ability to express ideas clearly.
• Bringing the views of the community into council decision-         • Ability to understand, focus on and resolve complex issues
  making processes                                                     through long term planning.
• Being an advocate for community groups and individuals at          • Ability to understand financial and reporting statements.
  council meetings                                                   • Understands the differing roles of governance and
• Balancing the need to advocate for specific interests against        management.
  the needs of the wider community                                   • Ability to think “region-wide” on issues to come to decision.
• Listening to the concerns of local residents and ratepayers on     • Be results focused.

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Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

• Knowledge of and commitment to the Local Government Act              Members’ Remuneration
  2002.                                                                At the beginning of each election year, the Remuneration
Experience and Background                                              Authority sets the base councillor salary and the chairperson’s
• May have experience relevant to the challenges facing the            remuneration. The base councillor salary and the chairperson’s
  district.                                                            remuneration is determined by the council’s size index, which will
                                                                       be derived from population and council expenditure factors.
• May have extensive community networks.
                                                                       The 2018-19 base salaries for the Canterbury Regional Council are:
• Be familiar with the existing Environment Canterbury’s Long
  Term Plan (LTP) or otherwise known as the Ten Year Plan.              Chair                             $163,973
Personal Qualities
                                                                        Councillor                        $63,884
•   Demonstrates integrity and ethical behaviour.
•   Is independent, inquisitive and innovative.                        There is additional funding set aside for positions of additional
•   Has the ability to see all sides of an argument.                   responsibility, to be recommended to the Remuneration Authority
                                                                       by the new council. The members’ remuneration levels are then
•   Is hard working and can work unsupervised.                         reviewed by the Remuneration Authority and may be subject to
•   Ability to develop and maintain positive working relationships     change after the election.
    with councillors and staff
•   Committed to Environment Canterbury.                               Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
•   Sense of humour.                                                   The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (the Act) is part of a
•   Respect for others.                                                reform package aimed at reducing the number of serious work-
•   Flexible working hours, some evening and weekend work is           related injuries and deaths in New Zealand by at least 25 percent
    required.                                                          by 2020. It came into force on 4 April 2016.
•   Actively demonstrate commitment to the Elected Members’            The Act is a new way of thinking about health and safety for New
    Code of Ethics                                                     Zealand. The Act is designed to:
                                                                       • Ensure everyone has a role to play
Members Interests                                                      • Makes everyone’s responsibilities clear
Prospective candidates should be aware of the requirements of          • Focuses on managing risk
the Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968.                   • Requires those who create the risk to control the risk
• Under Section 3 of the Act, elected members may not be               • Requires businesses to engage with their workers and enable
    concerned or interested in contracts made by the council               them to participate on an ongoing basis
    when payments made for the contracts entered into during           • Allows flexibility in managing health and safety risks.
    a particular year exceed $25,000 including GST. That amount
    may only be exceeded if the council has either obtained the        For elected members, the most significant implication is the
    prior approval of the Audit Office or, in special circumstances,   introduction of the role of officer and the requirement for officers
    obtained retrospective approval. When payments exceed              to meet due diligence duties.
    $25,000 or any other approved amount, the elected member           What is an officer and what do they need to do?
    concerned is automatically disqualified from office. He or she     An officer is a person who holds a very senior leadership position
    also commits an offence if they continue to act as a member.       and has the ability to significantly influence the management
• Under Section 6 of the Act, elected members may not discuss          of a business. At Environment Canterbury this includes elected
    or vote on any matter in which they have a pecuniary interest      members and the Chief Executive.
    when it is being considered by the council or a committee.         Officers must ensure the business is meeting its health and safety
    Elected members failing to observe this prohibition commit         responsibilities by doing due diligence to ensure the business
    an offence and can be prosecuted. Conviction leads to              understands and manages its key risks. To do this officers must
    disqualification from office.                                      take reasonable steps to:
• When a matter is raised at a meeting of the council or a             • Keep up to date knowledge of health and safety
    committee in which a member has a pecuniary interest, the
    member prohibited from voting or discussing the matter must        • Understand the operations of the business
    declare the pecuniary interest. The fact of that disclosure and    • Ensure and check that their business has appropriate
    abstention from discussion and voting on it is also recorded in         resources and processes for health and safety.
    the minutes. While it is not necessary to withdraw from the        Members of a Council are not required to exercise due diligence
    meeting, it is good practice to do so.                             over a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) providing they are
                                                                       not Officer of that CCO e.g. a member will be an Officer of a CCO
                                                                       if they are on the Board of the CCO.

                                                                                                                                                9
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Environment Canterbury and elected members as officers                     • The fixing of the date and time of the first ordinary meeting
under the Act                                                                  of the council, or the adoption of the schedule of ordinary
Environment Canterbury is proactively partnering with elected                  meetings.
members to ensure Environment Canterbury and its officers can              If newly elected the declaration required to be made by
meet their responsibilities under the Act.                                 councillors is:
Liabilities of officers under the Act                                      Declaration by Councillors
Under the Act there are a raft of offences that can be committed           I declare that I will faithfully and impartially, and according to the
which carry fines (which need to be paid in some cases by the              best of my skill and judgement, execute and perform, in the best
organisation and in some cases personally by the officer) and in           interests of the Canterbury Region, the powers, authorities, and
extreme cases even jail sentences. Elected members as officers             duties vested in or imposed upon me as the chairperson (or as a
have an exemption under the Act from some of these offences.               member) of the Canterbury Regional Council by virtue of the Local
Offences that elected members as officers can be liable for                Government Act 2002, the Local Government Official Information
include offences such as failure to comply with an improvement             and Meetings Act 1987, or any other Act.
notice. This can be a fine up to $50,000 for an individual or
$250,000 for a body corporate. Insurance is not available to cover         Pre-election Report
the cost of such fines.                                                    All councils must prepare a pre-election report. The report is
                                                                           prepared by the chief executive independently of the chair and
Inaugural Meeting                                                          councillors.
The successful candidates will take office on the day after the            Section 99A of the Local Government Act 2002 sets out the
electoral officer gives their official notification of the result of the   information that must be included in the report and its timing.
election. However, no person is permitted to act as a member of            It includes information previously published in other council
the council before making a declaration. This declaration will be          documents including long term plans, annual plans and annual
made at the inaugural meeting, which is expected to be held in             reports. As such the information reflects the policy and service
late October 2019. Elected members will be contacted by staff              delivery direction of the current council.
with the key dates.                                                        The pre-election report has a particular focus on how the council
The business to be conducted at that meeting will include:                 is performing financially, including the current financial position
• The making and attesting of declarations required of the chair           and key spending issues over the coming years. It provides historic
    and councillors. Traditionally, this has been a ceremonial             information for the past three years, an overview of the current
    occasion.                                                              election year and council’s planned financial position for the
• A general explanation of the Local Government Official                   next three years. It also outlines council’s broader financial goals,
    Information and Meetings Act 1987 and other laws affecting             which are included in its long term plan.
    elected members.                                                       The pre-election report will be available from the council’s
• Appointment of the chair and deputy chair and any committee              website by July 2019. Candidates are advised to read the report
    chair positions required.                                              when it becomes available.

Electoral Systems
The 2019 triennial election for Environment Canterbury to be               Briefly, the FPP electoral system consists of the following:
conducted under the First Past the Post (FPP) electoral system.            • Electors vote by indicating their preferred candidate(s) with a
                                                                             tick.
                                                                           • Voters must not tick more than the number of places to be
                                                                             filled.
                                                                           • The candidate(s) that receive the most votes is/are declared
                                                                             the winner, regardless of the proportion of votes that the
                                                                             candidate(s) obtained.

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Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Electoral Roll
Each territorial local authority (TLA) must compile a preliminary        Any alterations to the residential roll, should be made:
electoral roll during July 2019. Those electoral rolls will include      • by completing the appropriate form at any Post Shop or
regional council entitlements. Copies of the preliminary electoral
                                                                         • by telephoning 0800 ENROLNOW (0800 367656) or
roll for the election will be available for public inspection during
normal office hours from 13 July 2019 to Friday, 16 August 2019          • by accessing the Electoral Enrolment Centre website on
at the main office of each TLA.                                               www.elections.org.nz.
Every parliamentary elector, except those listed on the                  Hard copies of the preliminary electoral rolls covering the
unpublished electoral roll, will be included in the TLA electoral roll   Environment Canterbury area may be purchased from the
covering the elector’s residential address. Parliamentary electors       electoral officer. A separate fee for each roll will apply, based on
listed on the unpublished roll are not included in TLA electoral         the size of each roll.
rolls and must apply for a special vote if they wish to vote in the      The final electoral rolls are produced once the preliminary
election. The Electoral Commission write to those listed on the          electoral rolls close on 16 August 2019. The final electoral rolls are
unpublished rolls, informing them of the election and how to             the rolls used for issuing voting papers. Copies of these rolls may
source special voting documents if required.                             be purchased as above.
In addition to the residential electors, each TLA must also include      Information contained on the electoral roll is not available from
in their electoral rolls details of any non-resident ratepayers who      the electoral officer in an electronic form.
have enrolled as ratepayer electors. Ratepayer elector voting            In limited circumstances, an electronic listing of resident electors
entitlements are determined by the electoral issue and the               is available from Electoral Services (provided the criteria of
elector’s place of residence, meaning ratepayer electors will often      section 114 of the Electoral Act 1993 is met). An application form
have less voting entitlements than residential electors in the same      is required to be completed, and these are available upon request
TLA.                                                                     direct from Electoral Services. The contact person is Ben Cline on
                                                                         (04) 806 3560.

Candidate Eligibility
A candidate for the 2019 Environment Canterbury triennial                Notes:
elections must be:                                                       i. An Environment Canterbury candidate may stand for both the
1. Enrolled on a parliamentary electoral roll somewhere in New                Canterbury Regional Council and the Canterbury DHB.
   Zealand; and                                                          ii A candidate for the Environment Canterbury election can
2. A New Zealand citizen (either by birth or naturalisation                   stand for other regional council elections or for city or district
   ceremony). [Section 25, Local Electoral Act 2001.]                         council elections outside of the Canterbury Regional Council
                                                                              boundary.
Restrictions on candidates for local authority elections:
                                                                         iii. Candidates are required to record on the nomination paper
a. A candidate may stand for either the regional council or any
                                                                              if they are standing for election in any other elections in New
   city/district council/community/local board in the regional
                                                                              Zealand.
   council’s district but not both [section 58 LEA].
                                                                         iv. Candidates need not be a resident or ratepayer in the
b. A candidate may not stand for more than one constituency of
                                                                              constituency in which they are seeking election, or for that
   the same local authority [section 57A LEA].
                                                                              matter, the Canterbury region, but they must be nominated
c. A candidate cannot nominate themselves for office.                         by two electors of that constituency and they must declare
d. A candidate cannot be a person concerned or interested                     whether they reside within the election area or not.
   in contracts over $25,000 with the local authority (Section           v. Evidence of NZ citizenship will be required at the time
   3(1) Local Authorities (Members’ Interests) Act 1968). This                of candidate nomination. Acceptable evidence includes
   restriction is waived if prior approval from the Audit Office is           NZ passport, NZ birth certificate, or NZ citizenship
   obtained.                                                                  documentation.
e. An employee of Environment Canterbury can stand for election
   as an Environment Canterbury councillor, however, if elected,
   they must resign from their position as an employee of the local
   authority before taking up their elected position. (section 41 (5)
   Local Government Act 2002)

                                                                                                                                                 11
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Nominations
Nominations open on Friday 19 July 2019 and close at 12 noon on       Affiliation
Friday 16 August 2019.                                                The nomination paper provides for a party affiliation or other
Each candidate must be nominated on the official nomination           designation.
paper available during normal office hours by:                        Individual candidates not part of a political party may wish to
• Collection from any of the Environment Canterbury offices at        nominate their designation as “Independent” or leave as blank
    200 Tuam Street, Christchurch, 96 West End, Kaikoura or 75        (if left blank, nothing will show alongside the name on the voting
    Church Street, Timaru.                                            paper).
• Phoning the toll free number 0800 666 048 (during normal            A candidate requiring a specific party affiliation must have
    office hours)                                                     authority to adopt the affiliation from the party concerned (i.e.
• Downloading from the council’s web site www.ecan.govt.nz            a party letterhead or letter of consent are acceptable). This is a
• Emailing a request to ecan@electionz.com                            safety measure to avoid any illegal adoption of party affiliations.
                                                                      No party affiliation or other designation that is offensive in nature
Completion of Nomination Paper                                        or likely to confuse or mislead electors will be accepted.
Each nomination paper must have the consent of the candidate
and be nominated by two electors whose names appear on                Submitting the Nomination Documents
the electoral roll for the constituency the candidate is standing     Nomination documents for Environment Canterbury elections can
for (e.g. if a person wishes to stand for election for the North      be lodged by:
Canterbury constituency, then that person must be nominated           Delivery to any of the Environment Canterbury offices at 200
by two electors enrolled on either of the Kaikoura, Hurunui or        Tuam Street, Christchurch, 96 West End, Kaikoura or 75 Church
Waimakariri District Council rolls).                                  Street, Timaru.
A candidate cannot nominate himself/herself.                          Nomination forms can be lodged during normal business hours
If a candidate is unable to sign the nomination paper (e.g.           at the above venues between Friday 19 July and Friday 16 August
absent overseas), a letter of consent signed by the candidate is      2019 except on 16 August 2019 when 12 noon is the cut-off time
acceptable to attach to the nomination paper. A scanned copy of a     for lodgement.
completed nomination paper will also be accepted, provided the        Or by email to sian.daly@ecan.govt.nz
nomination deposit payment (or evidence thereof) is received in       Or by post to The Electoral Officer, Environment Canterbury, PO
time.                                                                 Box 345, Christchurch.
Other Names                                                           All nomination documents must be submitted at the same time,
If a candidate is commonly known in the community by a slightly       i.e. nomination paper, candidate profile statement, photo, proof
different name (e.g. Edward Smith is commonly known as Ted            of NZ citizenship and nomination deposit or evidence thereof. A
Smith) and has been known by this name for at least the last six      nomination will not be accepted if any components are missing.
months (to the satisfaction of the Electoral officer), the commonly   Once lodged, nomination papers are checked to ensure the
known name may appear on the voting paper.                            candidate is eligible (name appears on a parliamentary roll) and
Titles                                                                the nominators are two electors whose names appear on the
                                                                      electoral roll for the relevant constituency. Formats of Candidate
Titles (i.e. Dr, JP, Sir, Dame etc) are not permitted next to the     Profile Statements (CPS) provided are also checked.
candidate’s names on the voting paper or profile statement, but
can be included as part of the candidate’s 150 word profile text if   Should a nomination paper be lodged late on the morning
desired.                                                              nominations close, and be incorrectly completed or ineligible
                                                                      nominators are provided, there may not be enough time
Residency in Area                                                     to correct the situation and the nomination paper could be
A candidate must declare if they reside in the area of election or    invalidated. To avoid this, candidates should ensure their
not. This is shown at the top of the profile statement but does not   nomination forms are lodged in sufficient time to be checked and
count as part of the 150 word profile.                                allow correction if necessary.
Standing in Other Elections in New Zealand
A candidate must declare if they are standing for any other
elections in New Zealand at these triennial elections. This is
shown at the top of the profile statement but does not count as
part of the 150 word profile.

12
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

                                                                      Candidate
Candidate Details                                                     Withdrawals
Confirmed candidate details will be made available from the
council website. The details will be updated on a regular basis       A candidate can withdraw their nomination by application to
throughout the nomination period and will include at least the        the Electoral Officer up to the close of nominations i.e. 12 noon,
candidate name and any affiliation claimed.                           Friday 16 August 2019.
As soon as possible after nominations have closed a file of           Candidates cannot strategically or politically withdraw their
candidate contact details will be available for download from the     nomination once nominations have closed. Candidates may only
council’s website. Candidates may be contacted by journalists,        withdraw after the close of nominations for medical reasons, i.e.
advertisers, pollsters and other groups interested in election        incapacity.
matters.                                                              A medical certificate must be provided for a withdrawal notice to
Candidate profile statements and photos will be publicly available    be accepted by the Electoral Officer. An application can be made
after the close of nominations. These details will be available       by a candidate or an agent on their behalf.
on the council website, through online channels and electronic
applications.                                                         Candidates who have a Protection of
                                                                      Property Rights Court Order
Nomination Deposits                                                   Clause 5(1)(b) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002
Each nomination paper lodged, requires a deposit of $200              precludes anyone with a property court order made under s31
(including GST). If an election is required the deposit is refunded   of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 from
if the candidate polls greater than 25% of the lowest successful      taking office as an Elected Member of the Council. If this was
candidate for that constituency. The deposit is also refunded if no   to happen, a by-election would have to be held because the
election is required.                                                 candidate could not take up the office they were elected to.
Payment of the nomination deposit can be made by cash, EFTPOS         It is a criminal offence under s121 of the Local Electoral Act 2001
or online banking. However, should an online banking transaction      to stand as a candidate, or nominate someone, who is incapable
be dishonoured or declined, the nomination becomes invalid            of taking up office. That would include cases where a candidate
as the deposit has not lawfully been made. If this occurs after       has a s31 property order in place. If the Electoral Officer receives
the close of nominations, then the nomination is invalid and the      a nomination from someone who they discover before the close
candidate will be withdrawn.                                          of nominations has a property order in place, and is therefore
Cheque payments of nomination deposits will not be accepted.          incapable of holding office, the nomination will be withdrawn in
Details for the payment of the deposit by online banking are          accordance with s60(4) of the Local Electoral Act, and the matter
shown on page 2 of the nomination form. If paying by online           may be referred to the Police. If the Electoral Officer discovers
banking, evidence of the transaction must be provided at the          this after the close of nominations, they must give public notice
time the nomination documents are submitted, i.e. a print out         of the illegal nomination, and report the matter to the Police.
of the transaction receipt. The nomination form also sets out the     These steps are necessary to ensure that people do not vote for
reference and code details required for each online payment.          candidates who cannot hold office.
Nomination forms, with the deposit, proof of NZ citizenship and       This restriction also applies to District Health Board elections.
the candidate profile statement and photograph, can be sent to        Under s30(2) of the Crown Entities Act 2004,a person who is
the electoral officer by mail or e-mail, but should the papers be     subject to a property order under the Protection of Personal and
received by the electoral officer or deputy electoral officer after   Property Rights Act 1988 cannot be a candidate.
the close of nominations, the nomination is invalid.
It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure all
nomination documents are submitted together and that
they are all correct.
The lodgement of nomination documents should not be
left to the last minute.
Nominations close at 12 noon, Friday 16 August 2019.

                                                                                                                                             13
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Candidate Profile Statements
The Local Electoral Act allows for candidate profile statements       Translations
(CPS) of up to 150 words to be provided by each candidate             The following contact details are given for a translation company,
with the completed nomination form. If an election is required        for those candidates who are unable to prepare the translation
these are then collated by the electoral officer and forwarded        image themselves or do not know of anyone to do this for them:
to electors in a booklet with the voting papers. Refer also to
the notes listed in Appendix 1 for word limits and translation        Pacific International Translations (NZ) Ltd 4/203 Queen Street,
requirements.                                                         Auckland. Phone: 09 9135290 Fax: 09 9135291
Candidate profile statements must be provided electronically via      Email: info@pactrans.co.nz
email or on a media device, in a MS Word document that has            The translation service will provide the translations in the above
been spell checked. As the electoral officer could receive dozens     format to meet the requirements of the printer, the cost of which
of profiles, consistent format of delivery and content is required    is to be met by the candidate.
(refer to guidelines below).
Candidate profile statements are governed by Sections 61 and 62       Candidate Photos
of the Act.                                                           Candidates may also submit a recent colour photograph for
If the nomination forms are being personally delivered, a hard        inclusion with the candidate profile statement in the booklet to
copy format of the profile must be provided at the same time.         accompany the voting papers. Photos should also be provided
Hand written profiles will not be accepted.                           electronically, on a media device or as an attachment to an email
                                                                      to the electoral officer.
Format of Candidate Profile Statements
                                                                      If hard copy photographs are provided, then two copies of each
The format requirements for profiles are:                             photo should be provided with the candidate’s name clearly
The English text must be plain text, in paragraphs, with no special   printed on the rear of each photograph (Care needs to be taken
formatting, i.e.                                                      when labelling hard copies of photos to ensure the photo image
• No bold, italic, underlining etc.                                   is not damaged in the process). Photos will not be returned to
• No tabs                                                             candidates.
• No quote marks                                                      Format of Candidate Photos
• No accent marks (this restriction is in English text only)          Candidate photos are to be a head and shoulders shot only, with
• No bullet points                                                    nothing else in the photo, i.e. no hats, sunglasses, pets, external
                                                                      objects or impediments, or other people. They should be in
The profiles will be loaded into software provided by the printer     colour. If necessary the EO will crop the photo accordingly but the
that will automatically apply the required font, type size, line      onus is on the candidate to provide a photo of the candidate only
spacings etc. If there is no profile statement or photo from a        that complies with this format.
candidate, then “No Profile Statement and/or Photo provided.”
text or similar will be printed in the profile book.                  Electronic copies of photos should be scanned as a jpeg at a
                                                                      minimum of 600 dpi.
Any non-English candidate profile content must be supplied with
the following formatting:                                             Any queries regarding the format of photos and profiles are to be
                                                                      made to the EO.
• Font–Times New Roman (or Equivalent)
                                                                      Note: The onus is on the candidate to ensure that all nomination
• Point Size–9 point size, 11 point line spacing                      documents including the profile and photo are submitted to the
• No special formatting of text – e.g. no bolding, no italics, no     electoral officer by 12 noon, Friday 16 August 2019.
    underlines, no quote marks, etc.

14
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Correctness of Profile Statements
The candidate is responsible for ensuring that the candidate
profile statement contains correct grammar, spelling, punctuation,
etc. The electoral officer may make corrections to the statement
without affecting content but accepts no responsibility to make
any correction. The candidate should ensure the statement is
correct when submitted and not expect any corrections to be
applied.
The electoral officer is not required to verify or investigate any
information included in a candidate profile statement.
The electoral officer will take no responsibility for the accuracy
of the content. A disclaimer concerning the accuracy of the
information contained in the statements will be published in the
profile statement booklet.
If the profile statement or photo does not comply with the
legislative requirements, the electoral officer will as soon as
practicable, return the statement to the candidate and specify
his/her concerns and the reasons therefore. The candidate will
then have up to three (3) days to submit an amended candidate
profile statement to the electoral officer.
A candidate is to be treated as having failed to provide a
candidate profile statement, if the candidate:
• fails to submit an amended candidate profile statement within
     the requested period, or
• submits an amended candidate profile statement that, in
     the opinion of the electoral officer, does not comply with the
     requirements.
Where the electoral officer is not satisfied that the candidate
profile statement complies and cannot reach agreement with
the candidate within the period specified, but the candidate has
submitted a suitable photograph, the electoral officer will act as
if the written part of the statement was never received but still
publish the photograph in the candidate profile booklet to be
included with the voting paper sent to each elector, as well as a
message to the effect that a statement was not supplied.

                                                                                                              15
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Campaigning, Council Resources
and Social Media
Election campaigning can commence anytime but should cease by          Advertising Standards Code for Campaign
the close of voting, i.e. 12 noon, Saturday 12 October 2019.           Material
There are generally no rules around conduct of campaigning by          Candidates are reminded to be socially responsible and truthful
candidates, although there are certain election offences, which        with the content of their campaign material. Campaign
are detailed for your information in this guide, see Appendix 6.
Please refer to them for your own protection.                          advertisements are subject to the Advertising Standards Authority
                                                                       (ASA) Code. Wherever facts are quoted, the Code is strict that
No election material can contain:                                      the facts must be correct, however, where a person holds a broad
• any untrue statement defamatory of any candidate and                 view or opinion, the Code allows them to do so. The ASA settles
    calculated to influence the vote of any elector.                   disputes during elections within two to three days, and
• an imitation voting paper which has the names of the                 take complaints from electoral officers and the public. The usual
    candidates with any direction or indication as to the candidate    penalty for breaches of the code is for the advertising to be
    a person should vote for, or in any way contains such direction    removed.
    or indication likely to influence the voter.
Voting papers should not be collected from electors by candidates      Campaign Expenditure Limits
or their assistants. Each elector is required by law to post or        Candidates have campaign expenditure limits and are required
deliver his or her own voting paper to the electoral officer or        to file an expenditure return with the electoral officer after the
official voting boxes.                                                 election (see next section). The campaign limits are based on the
                                                                       estimated 2018 populations of each constituency as sourced from
Council Resources                                                      the Department of Statistics.
Candidates are not permitted to use council resources for              Campaign expenditure is all expenses relating to the campaign
campaigning purposes. Council resources includes but are not           from the period 3 months before election day, i.e. all expenditure
limited to council’s logo and branding, website, facebook page,        from 12 July 2019 to 12 October 2019, plus an apportionment of
twitter account, any forms of social media, computers, email,          any campaign expenditure incurred prior to 12 July 2019.
mobile phones, faxes, stationery, photocopiers, printers, stamps,      The campaign expenditure levels (inclusive of GST) for the
cars, meeting rooms and venues (except those available for public      Environment Canterbury elections for 2019 are:
hire).
                                                                        Constituency                                  Expenditure limit
Election Advertising
                                                                        North Canterbury/Ōpukepuke                          $40,000
Election advertising, using any media, including social media
must identify the person under whose authority they have been           Christchurch North East/Ōrei                        $55,000
produced, as per Sections 113-115 of the Local Electoral Act 2001.
                                                                        Christchurch West/Ōpuna                             $50,000
This means that for posters, adverts, billboards, flyers, vehicle
signage, websites, Facebook pages etc, each advertising item            Christchurch Central/Ōhoko                          $55,000
must have a sentence at the bottom saying that it is authorised
by the candidate or agent, i.e. “Authorised by Joe Citizen, 20 Main     Christchurch South/Ōwhanga                          $50,000
St, Tinseltown.” This authorisation must be clearly visible on any      Mid-Canterbury/Ōpakihi                              $50,000
campaigning material including signs and billboards
Please note: a physical address must be provided in any                 South Canterbury/Ōtuhituhi                          $40,000
authorisation text, i.e. it cannot be a PO Box, Private Bag or a
rural delivery number. There must be a reasonable expectation
that anyone wishing to discuss the advertising can do so with the
candidate or their agent at the address listed. The use of a council
building address is not permitted in the authorisation address.

16
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Return of Electoral Expenses                                           Definition of electoral donation
Each candidate is required to keep a record of all campaign            An electoral donation is a donation of money, goods or services
election expenses, and must furnish a return to the Electoral          that is made for use in a candidate’s election campaign (section
Officer within 55 days of the election result being declared,          103A LEA). Electoral donations and contributions to donations,
estimated to be no later than Wednesday 18 December 2019.              of more than $1500 incl. GST are required to be declared in
The return of electoral expenses and electoral donations form once     the candidate’s return of donations and expenses. A series of
returned becomes a public document and can be inspected by any         donations made by one person that adds up to more than $1500
person for a period of 7 years after receipt. The Electoral Officer    must also be declared. An electoral donation includes:
is required to make the expenditure return and any supporting          • where a candidate is provided with goods or services free of
documents available on Council’s website for seven years.                   charge that have a reasonable market value greater than $300
A model election expenses return form is attached as Appendix 2.       • where a candidate is provided with discounted goods or
The relevant sections of the Local Electoral Act 2001 on election           services and the reasonable market value of the goods or
expenses is attached as Appendix 3.                                         services is greater than $300, the difference between the
Note:                                                                       contract or agreed price and the reasonable market value of
                                                                            those goods and services is a donation
1) Candidates are required to keep evidence of any election
     expenses for amounts exceeding $200.                              • where a candidate sells over-valued goods or services, the
                                                                            difference between the price paid and the reasonable market
2) All candidates must submit a return of election expenses and
                                                                            value is a donation, for example a fundraising auction or dinner.
     donations form even if no expenses have been incurred or
     donations received.                                               The following are not candidate donations:
                                                                       • volunteer labour
Candidate Expenses
                                                                       • goods or services provided free of charge to a candidate, or to
Sec 104 of the Local Electoral Act lists the following definition of
                                                                            any person on the candidate’s behalf that have a reasonable
electoral expenses, in relation to a candidate at an election,—
                                                                            market value of $300 or less
(a) Means expenses that are incurred by or on behalf of the
                                                                       • money provided by the candidate for his or her own
    candidate in respect of any electoral activity; and
                                                                            campaign.
(b) includes expenses that are incurred by or on behalf of the
                                                                       If a person or organisation gives or pays for goods or services that
    candidate, before or after the applicable period before the
                                                                       would otherwise be candidate election expenses, the reasonable
    close of polling day, in respect of any electoral activity; and
                                                                       market value of those items, whatever their value, should be
(c) includes the reasonable market value of any materials applied      recorded as an election expense. If the reasonable market
    in respect of any electoral activity that are given to the         value of the items exceeds $300 it should also be recorded as a
    candidate or that are provided to the candidate free of charge     donation.
    or below reasonable market value; and
                                                                       Donations made up of contributions
(d) includes the cost of any printing or postage in respect of any
    electoral activity, whether or not the expenses in respect of      Donations to candidates can be made up of pooled funds
    the printing or postage are incurred by or on behalf of the        contributed by more than one person (referred to in the Act as
    candidate; but                                                     donations funded from contributions). These types of donations
                                                                       include, for example, campaign donations made through a
(e) does not include the expenses of operating a vehicle on which
                                                                       trust, or where there is a fundraising collection for a candidate’s
    election advertising appears if that vehicle is used in good
                                                                       campaign (section 103A LEA). The total proceeds of a collection
    faith by the candidate as the candidate’s personal means of
                                                                       are treated as a donation under the Act. The person who collects
    transport; and
                                                                       the money will normally be the donor. The individuals who
(f) does not include expenses incurred by the candidate in             contribute to the collection are contributors for the purposes
    preparing a candidate profile statement; and                       of the Act. If an electoral donation, other than an anonymous
(g) does not include the labour of any person that is provided to      donation, is made up of contributions, the transmitter or donor
    the candidate free of charge by that person; and                   must tell the candidate:
(h) does not include the cost of any framework (other than a           • the name and address of the donor
    commercial framework) that supports a hoarding on which an         • whether the donation is made up of contributions
    advertisement is displayed.
                                                                       • the total amount of individual contributions of $1500 or less
Note – the $200 nomination deposit fee is not an electoral
                                                                       • in the case of individual contributions greater than $1500, the
expense.
                                                                            name, address, and contribution of each contributor.
                                                                       If the candidate knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe, that
                                                                       the donor has failed to supply information about contributions,
                                                                       the whole donation must be returned to the donor.

                                                                                                                                               17
Candidate Information for the 2019 Elections

Transmitted donations                                                 Social Media Guidelines for Candidates
A donation can be made either directly by the donor to the            Candidates must comply with the following guidelines for social
candidate or indirectly by a transmitter who transmits a donation     media use and presence related to campaigning.
to the candidate on someone else’s behalf, for example via            Things to be aware of:
a lawyer’s trust fund. Any person who receives a candidate
                                                                      • During the lead up to elections, the current chair and
donation on the candidate’s behalf must transmit it to the
                                                                         councillors may be used in social media posts where it is
candidate within 10 working days. When transmitting a donation,
                                                                         appropriate and is considered ‘business as usual’ to use them.
the transmitter must tell the candidate:
                                                                         This may be in images or quotes.
• that the donation is being transmitted on behalf of a donor
                                                                      • Election advertising, using any media, including social
• the name and address of the donor                                      media,must identify the person under whose authority they
• whether the donation is made up of contributions                       have been produced, as per sections 113-115 of the Local
• the total amount of contributions of $1500 or less                     Electoral Act 2001. This means in your profile photo/bio, you
                                                                         must have a statement saying that all content/images on your
• in the case of contributions greater than $1500, the name,
                                                                         social media channel are authorised by you or your agent. You
    address, and contribution of each contributor.
                                                                         must include a physical address in the authorisation statement
Where a transmitter does not disclose the name and address               (not a PO Box, private bag or rural number), and you must not
of the donor, the donation must be treated as an anonymous               use the council’s office addresses.
donation (see below).
                                                                      • The council’s social media accounts (listed below), including
Anonymous donations                                                      but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
Candidates are not permitted to retain anonymous donations               and Neighbourly, are not permitted to be used as a
exceeding $1500. An anonymous donation is a donation made                communications channel by anyone (candidates or members
in such a way that the candidate who receives the donation               of the public) for promotion, electioneering or campaigning.
does not know the identity of the donor and could not, in the            This also applies to all social media accounts owned by
circumstances, reasonably be expected to know the identity               council-controlled organisations.
of the donor (section 103A LEA). If a candidate receives an           • The council’s social media accounts are constantly monitored
anonymous donation greater than $1500, he or she may retain              and any campaign related or electioneering content will be
$1500 of that donation. The balance of the donation must, within         removed immediately.
20 working days of receipt, be paid to the electoral officer for      • If Environment Canterbury already follows your public social
payment into the general fund of the local authority.                    media accounts, please note you will be unfollowed 3 months
Applicable period for donations                                          prior to the election date. This protocol is in line with the Local
                                                                         Electoral Act 2001.
There is no provision within the Local Electoral Act 2001 or
it’s regulations specifying a period for recording or declaring       • Any social media post – positive or negative – made by any
donations. On that basis, all qualifying donations contributed for       individual specifically relating to their own – or someone
use in a candidate’s election campaign for the 2019 triennial local      else’s – nomination, intention to run for council, or election
body elections should be recorded and included in the candidate’s        campaign, will be removed immediately.
return of election expenses and donations.                            • Candidates cannot reply to the council’s social media posts or
                                                                         share with a comment encouraging people to like or follow
                                                                         their own social media accounts or any other electioneering
                                                                         tool. Any posts that do this will be removed immediately.
                                                                      • Candidates must not link their own social media accounts (if
                                                                         they are used for campaigning purposes) to the council’s social
                                                                         media accounts.
                                                                      • Candidates cannot rate, review, check-in or tag the council’s
                                                                         social media channels.
                                                                      • The council’s social media accounts will remain neutral.
                                                                         Environment Canterbury will promote elections and the
                                                                         importance of voting but will not associate these posts with
                                                                         any candidates.

18
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