Hastings District Council (abbr. HDC; ) is the territorial authority for the Hastings District of New Zealand's North Island. It serves as the district's local government alongside the Hawke's Bay Regional Council as the regional council. It has existed since the 1989 reforms to local government.

The governing body of council has 14 councillors and is chaired by the mayor of Hastings (currently Wendy Schollum since October 2025). There is also a community board representing rural communities.

History 2022–2025 term Cyclone Gabrielle recovery In the 2024 budget, the government gave the council $1,470,000 towards road infrastructure affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Mayor Hazlehurst welcomed the move.

Councils in Hawke's Bay established voluntary buyout schemes following the devastation of the cyclone, with 153 properties in the Hastings District deemed to be unsafe for continued human residence ("Category 3"). 24 of these were bought out right, with the owners of the rest of the land agreeing to receive relocation grants but retaining ownership. The costs for these buyouts was split evenly between council and the central government.

In the councils Long Term Plan, $17 million per year for 16 years was forecast to be put towards the cyclone recovery programme. Former Council CEO Nigel Bickle described the Long Term Plan as "...the most challenging..." the council had ever dealt with. Mayor Hazlehurst said in April 2024 that the council had spent in the past year "close to $155 million" in response to the cyclone.

Governing body

Mayor

One mayor is elected at-large; they chair meetings of the governing body and act as the head of local government in the district.

Current composition The current members of the governing body of council are: RolePortraitNameAffiliationWardMayorWendy Schollum IndependentElected at-largeDeputyMichael Fowler IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorSteve Gibson IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorYvonne Lorkin IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorSimon Nixon IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorNick Ratcliffe Independent GreenHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorCallum Ross IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorKevin Watkins IndependentHastings-Havelock NorthCouncillorDerek Nowell-Usticke CARE for HastingsMohakaCouncillorHenare O'Keefe IndependentFlaxmereCouncillorAlwyn Corban IndependentHeretaungaCouncillorHana Montaperto-Hendry IndependentHeretaungaCouncillorElisha Milmine IndependentKahuranakiCouncillorSiiam Daniel IndependentTakitimuCouncillorKellie Jessup IndependentTakitimuCouncillorHeather Te Au-Skipworth IndependentTakitimu

List of members by term +TermMayorCouncillorsRef.1989−1992Jeremy Dwyer 1992−19951995−19981998−20012001−2004Lawrence Yule 2004−2007 2007−2010 2010−2013 2013−2016 2016−2019Sandra Hazlehurst2019−2022 2022−2025 2025−2028Wendy Schollum

Rural Community Board The council also has a Rural Community Board, made up of four members elected from four rural community areas:

Kaweka subdivision: Isabelle Crawshaw (Chair) Tutira subdivision: Abby Morley (Deputy chair) Maraekakaho subdivision: George Macmillan Poukawa subdivision: Pete Maclennan District councillors representing Mohaka, Kahuranaki, and Takitimu wards are also members.

Chief executive

The professional head of the civil service is the chief executive, who is appointed by the council.

Died in office +No.Chief executivePortraitTerm startTerm endRef1?198919912Eric Millar199120003Murray Gilbertson17 April 200031 December 2007–Mike Maguire (acting)1 January 200810 February 20084Ross McLeod11 February 200820 June 2018–Neil Taylor (acting)21 June 201810 February 20195To'osavili Nigel Bickle11 February 20191 August 2026–Bruce Allan (acting)incumbent

Elections List Council

Mayoral

Wards

Current wards Currently the council has six wards; Mohaka and Kahuranaki wards cover northern and southern rural communities, respectively, the Heretaunga ward covers the non-urban surroundings of Hastings, the Flaxmere ward covers the suburb of Flaxmere, and the Hastings-Havelock North ward covers the urban areas of Hastings and Havelock North.

Māori wards The council had introduced the Takitimu Māori ward at the 2022 local elections. Following the decision of the Sixth National Government to force local councils to either abolish Māori wards or hold a referendum on their continued existence, the council voted unanimously to retain them and thus to hold a referendum, to occur alongside the 2025 local elections. Deputy Mayor Kerr called the Government's decision a "farce", and Mayor Hazlehurst said it was "disheartening" that the Government did not trust local councils on the issue.

The result of the referendum held on 11 October 2025 was that the Māori ward will be abolished, with remove on 49.8% defeating keep on 45.7%.

Youth council The Hastings District Youth Council is made up of 15-20 young Hastonians aged 15 to 21 who live, work, or study in the district. In 2020, Hastings youth councillors were granted speaking rights on council subcommittees, allowing them to actively participate and provide input. This initiative aimed to empower youth by involving them in local governance and decision-making processes. +Vote on Youth Councillors having voting rights on committees For AgainstAbsentSandra Hazlehurst (mayor)Alwyn CorbanKellie JessupTania Kerr ()Malcolm DixonKevin WatkinsAna ApatuMichael FowlerMarcus BuddoDamon HarveyHana Montaperto-HendryHenry HekeHeather Te Au-SkipworthEileen LawsonWendy SchollumSimon NixonTotal7 (mayor tiebreak)72 In September 2024, the Hastings District Council voted to grant youth councillors voting rights on subcommittees. The decision was evenly split among councillors, with Mayor Hazlehurst casting the tie-breaking vote in favour. She stated that this move provided "an opportunity for the next generation to influence change which will impact our community into the future."

The decision elicited mixed reactions; supporters viewed it as a progressive step towards youth empowerment and leadership development, whilst critics emphasised that youth councillors are unelected. The Taxpayers' Union protested the decision by setting up a "bouncy council" outside the Hastings District Council building.

Voting rights granted to youth councillors were limited to subcommittees and do not extend to full council meetings, ensuring that primary decision-making authority remains with elected councillors.

The Local Government Act permits councils to appoint unelected members to committees, a practice often used to involve subject matter experts or iwi representatives. The decision to grant voting rights to Youth Council members aligns with these existing provisions.

The decision was accompanied by "misinformation", according to one of the youth councillors. Certain elected members and advocacy groups, including the Taxpayers’ Union, claimed that the vote would allow youth councillors to vote in full council meetings, which was incorrect. The voting rights applied only to council subcommittees.

Coat of arms

References