Back to Recordings of candidate information sessions and slideshows.
[The first slide reads 'Become a candidate in Auckland’s Elections 2025’. This slide changes to an ‘Overview’ slide and lists the topics the webinar will cover. These include: local elections - what are they, why do they matter; our governance structure - how does the council work; roles you can stand for - what do they do, how much do they earn; becoming a candidate - who can do it, what's required; how to campaign- do's and don'ts, how much does it cost.]
[New slide appears with a blue bubble with 'Setting the scene: Auckland local elections', while the Sky Tower and Viaduct Harbour can be seen in the distance. Webinar speaker, Elodie Fontaine and Elections Officer, Dale Ofsoske appear in little windows on the right side of the online presentation.]
Elodie: "So getting into the very beginning of our presentation, Auckland local elections - some of you may know this already, but Auckland local elections are held every three years by postal vote. In Auckland, we elect a mayor, 20 councillors across 13 wards and 149 local board members across 21 local boards."
[The next slide is 'Local elections overview' and shows a summary of this information in bullet points.]
Elodie: "So what's the opportunity here? The opportunity is that those 170 elected members take on a critical leadership role for our large, diverse and growing region. It’s an opportunity for people standing as candidates and elected members to bring unique talents and perspectives to this leadership role."
[The next slide is titled 'the opportunity' and shows the following information summarised in bullet points.]
Elodie: "It’s an opportunity to guide and make decisions on major projects, allocate resources, provide input on future infrastructure needs and drive value for money for Aucklanders. There are major infrastructure projects set for completion next year, like the City Rail Link and the central interceptor. Elected members play a key role in ensuring that our city thrives, our communities grow and all of our needs are met."
Elodie: "It’s also an opportunity for people to contribute to communities, connect and build networks. Our elected members help manage council assets, which are worth a total of $42 million. Standing as a candidate and potentially being elected is an opportunity to develop your journey as a governance professional or community leader."
[Next slide says 'Why does it matter. Auckland's elected members make decisions on public transport and local roads, rubbish and recycling, local and regional parks, water distribution, beaches and libraries.' Each item on this slide is illustrated with decorative icons.]
Elodie: "Why does it matter? Because our elected members on the council make decisions on everything that affects our daily lives in Auckland. This includes public transport, local roads, rubbish and recycling, local and regional parks, water distribution and infrastructure, beaches, libraries, local playgrounds, community halls, pools and leisure centres. Elected members make decisions on all of these aspects."
[An infographic of Auckland Council’s governance structure appears, demonstrating relationships between 21 local boards that are made up of 149 members who contribute to local decisions and Governing Body which is made up of the mayor and 20 councillors who make regional decisions.]
[In the lower half of the graphic under management of policy, planning and service delivery, implementing elected members’ decisions and providing them support and advice is the Auckland Council organisation and council-controlled organisations. Running parallel to the right are Houkura (formerly known as the Independent Māori Statutory Board), co-governance entities and council-controlled organisations’ boards.]
[The URL for elected member workshops and meetings agendas and minutes appears: infocouncil.govt.nz followed by an infographic showing the timeline for key election dates]
Elodie: "Now, getting into how Auckland Council works and how our governance structure functions. Auckland Council operates under a shared governance model, which means our 170 elected members are split into two decision-making bodies: the Governing Body and the local boards."
Elodie: "The Governing Body consists of the mayor and 20 councillors and focuses on big-picture, region-wide strategic decisions. There are 21 local boards across the region, each with between five and nine members, making up the total of 149. Local boards represent their communities and make decisions on local issues, activities and facilities. Each part operates autonomously within their own areas of responsibility, but they maintain a close working relationship. Now, let’s talk about the roles you can stand for."
[Slide shows a crowd standing behind a fence, with a blue bubble reading 'Roles you can stand for.']
Elodie: "The mayor. The mayor leads the Governing Body, appoints a deputy mayor, establishes committees and appoints committee chairs. The mayor also sets the vision for Auckland and leads the development of council plans, policies and budgets while engaging with the council and the people of Auckland. This role requires significant professional and personal commitment, as it is a full-time position with after-hours and weekend commitments."
[Slide shows the key mayor information summarised in a bullet list.]
Elodie: "All elected positions are paid. Salaries are set by an independent agency, the Remuneration Authority, which reviews them annually. As of December 2024, the mayor’s salary is just over $300,000 per year."
[New slide with 'ward councillors' in a yellow bubble on the left and a bulleted list, detailing the ward councillors' main responsibilities on the right.]
Elodie: "Ward councillors. There are 20 ward councillors elected across 13 wards. Their responsibilities include sitting on the Governing Body with the mayor, attending meetings, engaging with local boards, meeting with council employees, liaising with residents and attending events and public meetings. Councillors can also take on additional responsibilities, such as being deputy mayor or chairing committees."
Elodie: "Ward councillor roles require significant commitment, averaging at least 40 hours per week. The base salary is currently just over $111,000 per year but can go up to $169,000 for the deputy mayor."
[New slide with local board member in a green bubble on the left and a bulleted list, detailing the local board member's main responsibilities on the right.]
Elodie: "Local board members. Local board members provide leadership to their local communities, make decisions on local matters, develop and adopt local board plans, propose bylaws and targeted rates and contribute to regional strategies. Some members may take on additional responsibilities, such as overseeing events or parks. Each local board appoints a chair and deputy chair, both of whom have extra responsibilities."
Elodie: "Local board roles are part-time, ranging from 12 to 30 hours per week. The chair role is full-time. Salaries vary depending on the size of the local board area, with members earning between $31,000 and $55,000, deputy chairs between $37,000 and $67,000 and chairs between $62,000 and $111,000."
[New slide reads 'Life as an elected member with a bulleted list of their key duties.]
Elodie: "Life as an elected member. Elected members spend significant time reading and preparing for meetings, attending workshops, engaging with the public and representing the council at community and cultural events. Governing Body members spend most of their week in committee meetings, reviewing detailed agendas and reports. Local board members make decisions on grant applications, local transport and facility upgrades, while councillors make decisions on rates, bylaws, budgets and strategic plans."
[The website URL for infocouncil.govt.nz appears at the bottom of the screen. New slide shows a summary of additional benefits in a bulleted list, including development opportunities, governance skills and leadership, strategic thinking and open-mindedness, commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Maori outcomes, relationship building and working with diverse audiences and communities, communication skills, council processes, systems, policies and time management. It also includes resources and support to help manage personal or work-related challenges and the equipment and resources to do the job.]
[New slide shows 'How to become a candidate' written in a blue bubble with a group of runners competing in Round the Bays in the background. Next slide shows 'Who can become a candidate' with a bulleted list summarising the main points. ]
Elodie: "Becoming a candidate. To stand as a candidate, you must be at least 18 years old, a New Zealand citizen and registered on the New Zealand parliamentary electoral roll. You also need to be nominated by two electors from the area you are standing for. So people from all backgrounds and experience are welcome to this role. In fact it brings an interesting, diverse perspective to this decision. No specific degree or background is required. Helpful skills include strategic thinking, open-mindedness, relationship-building and strong communication skills."
Elodie: "And some of these involve, you know, being able to think strategically, be open minded, you might have some opinions about something, but it's important that if you sit at a decision making table, you are able to keep an open mind and hear the different views and the different pieces of advice you might receive. It's also really important to be able to build relationships with different members of our communities as well as having great communication skills."
[A new slide with different coloured bubbles appears featuring the key dates of the election campaign.]
Elodie: "Our election has got some key dates coming up. So the first thing to know if you're interested in standing, you can start campaigning anytime. You can start talking to people in your community, you can start posting on your socials. But there is a four-week period during which you can fill in your candidate nominations and that is from 4 July to 1 August 2025. After the candidate nominations close, there will be some time for candidates to promote themselves and campaign and then the voting period will open from 9 September and close on 11 October at midday."
Elodie: "Following the close of voting, the results will be released, so we will be getting a first lot of results from the afternoon of election day. So from Saturday 11th in the afternoon the first progress results will be published. Those are not final though, because not all votes would have been counted by them by then. So it's important as a candidate that when you receive results, that afternoon you keep in mind that they might change. So you might be elected or provisionally elected that afternoon and find out a couple of days later when the final results come through that actually the number of votes has just changed the balance and you are no longer elected or vice versa."
Elodie: "From late October through to November, we will go through the inaugurations and the onboarding of all the new elected members. Now there are a couple of ways you can run as a candidate."
[New slide appears with 'Ways to run as a candidate' at the top, followed by a few bullet points about running independently versus running as part of an affiliation.]
Elodie: "The first one is as an independent. What this means is that you run on your own, but you can still express your political colour or your political ideas. The other way to run is affiliated. or as we sometimes call it in local election. is on a ticket. What that means is that you are supported by or part of a political party, organisation or group."
Elodie: "So usually that would be like-minded individuals that get together to support each other's campaign in some cases, for name recognition and potentially campaign cost as well. And so there are two options. You can join an existing affiliation. And if you want to do that, you have to contact them directly and inquire about the process. There's a bit of a process there for them to decide who they want to put forward as candidates. Or you can create your own ticket."
[New slide titled 'Standing for multiple positions' appears with bullet points summarising the key information.]
Elodie: "You can stand for multiple positions if you decide to stand as a candidate. So, you can stand for more than one position at a time. What that means is you could decide to stand for mayor, for one ward councillor position and for multiple local board positions."
Elodie: "So if you decide to do that and stand for multiple positions, it's important to know that you would have to pay for that. $200 deposit for each nomination. It's also important to note that you can only stand for one ward councillor position, but you can stand for multiple local boards. If you do decide to stand for multiple local boards, you will have to state your preference in your nomination."
Elodie: "So which of those local board areas would you prefer to actually sit on if you were elected to multiple boards? So if you are elected to more than one position, it's the highest position that takes precedence. So in the case of standing for councillor and local board, if you were elected in both, you would be sitting as a councillor and the local board position you would not take."
[New slide 'Nomination process' appears with the following bullet points 'Electronic nominations will be available for the first time, paper nominations will still be available at 20+ locations across Auckland, forms (online and paper) will be available from 4 July 2025 nominations close on Friday 1 August 2025 at 12 noon, you need to be enrolled and your two electors need to be enrolled in the area you are standing for'.]
Elodie: "We, now get into the detail of the nomination process. So, I mentioned earlier on, at least on the little timeline, that nominations will open from 4 July and will close at midday on 1 August. So the nomination forms will only be available from the opening of nominations on 4 July."
Elodie: "For the first time this time around in 2025 we will be available to provide electronic nominations as an option. Paper nominations will still be available at over 20 locations across Auckland. And so as I mentioned earlier, the requirement to put in a nomination is to be 18 years old and a New Zealand citizen, to be enrolled on the parliamentary role and have two nominators who are enrolled in the exact area you are standing for."
Elodie: "This is important because in some local boards we also have subdivisions and so if you are standing for a particular subdivision, your two nominators need to be enrolled in that exact subdivision. We have a local board and ward finder tool on our Vote Auckland website where you can type in an address and see what the local board, ward and potentially local board's subdivision is so that you can make sure you are clear on the area that people need to be enrolled into as your nominators."
Elodie: "One very important thing to note is that, we really recommend not to leave your nomination to the last minute because if there's any issue with it, one we often see is you have a nominator that's not enrolled in the correct area, you have to go back and find another person to nominate you. And so you might miss the deadline and we absolutely cannot accept late nominations."
[New slide 'Nomination process' the bullet points say 'be contactable: ensure your contact details are correct. If you choose to keep your contact details private, we will not be able to share with media or any other interested parties. Your photo and profile statement will be key information for voters. Your statement needs to include relevant information about your policies.']
Elodie: "And another thing that's important to note as part of the nomination process is that of course you need to be contactable, so you need to make sure that your contact details are correct. And so we ask for phone numbers, email addresses and you have the opportunity to put in an email address that might not be your main one, but there could be one that you set up specifically for your campaigning purposes."
Elodie: "That is important because you have to choose when you put in your nomination, if you want your contact details to be released or not. And if you choose to keep your contact details private, that means we cannot share them with the media or any other interested parties. And those interested parties might be organisers of a 'meet the candidate' event."
Elodie: "So what that means is that if you keep your contact details private, you might miss out on campaigning opportunities. That being said, we understand why they might not want your main phone number to be made available to a large number of people, so that's where having maybe secondary contact details that you can release for campaigning purposes might be something you want to consider."
Elodie: "Another thing to note is that, the photo and profile statement for candidates is optional. So you don't have to provide one, but you have to realise as a candidate that these are key for voters. Voters very much want to know about the candidates so that they can make an informed decision when voting. So if you decide not to share your photo and not to include a profile statement, you have to ask yourself what that might look like for the voter."
Elodie: "We also really recommend that you include relevant information about your policies in your profile statement. So, in case that's not clear, the profile statement is 150-word blurb that you can include in your nomination that will be included in the candidate booklet that gets sent out with voting papers. So it's a little book that has your photo on your profile statement that voters can flick through as they fill in their voting papers. We will also be making an online profile available on Vote Auckland. So as a candidate you will be invited to provide more information than that 150 words so that again voters have a chance to really get to know more about you as a candidate and understand why they might want to vote for you."
Elodie: "Another really important thing, when putting in a nomination is to really check and check and check again all of the information you submit. Because once you submit, we cannot make any changes. And we have had people in the past that tick the wrong box for the position they want to stand for and end up standing for local board that they actually did not intend to stand for, for instance, so very important. Make sure what you submit is correct."
[A new slide appears titled 'Cost of campaigning' with a summary of the main points in a bulleted list.]
Elodie: "We will now move into some of the more practical information around campaigning. The first one that comes up is the cost of campaigning and the first thing to note is that all of the campaign costs have to be funded by yourself as a candidate. You can also receive donations, but none of the funding will be coming from Auckland Council. Some candidates spend almost nothing and others spend several thousand dollars. So it's a completely personal decision as a candidate how much money you want to put in your campaign."
Elodie: "But it's important to know that the law limits how much you can spend, so there is a maximum limit and that limit is set based on the population of the area that you are standing for. So the limit for the mayor is much higher than the limit for a local board member. You also need to know that as a candidate you will need to declare all of your donation and campaign expenses and that is due by December 2025."
Elodie: "So a couple of months after the election is over, regardless of whether you have been successful or not, as a candidate you will need to declare donations and campaign expenses. So some of those typical campaign expenses would include things like hoardings, election signage - you see sometimes candidates having fairly big billboards out there, in the public arena. You could also fund posters, leaflets, and media advertisements."
[New slide appears with 'Campaigning tips' as a heading and the main points summarised in bullets.]
Elodie: "But there are also very cost-effective ways to run a campaign and we have seen candidates be successful having spent almost nothing on their campaign because they have used things that are quite cost-effective or free, such as social media or door knocking or attending local events and community meetings. So what we really recommend is to have a plan and set yourself a budget so that you're clear on what you want to do or not to do."
Elodie: "A really important thing when you put yourself out in a public position like this one is to make sure to make sure you have a support network, that your family, friends are there to support you. And also consider finding a mentor. So by mentor, we mean someone that maybe is a current elected member or someone who campaigned, was a member in the past, just someone that will have practical experience to share with you and share their tips."
Elodie: "So we know that a number of our current elected members are very open to being contacted and be asked questions like 'how would I stand', 'what do I need to do', 'how's life as an elected member'... So if this is something you'd like to have more information about, feel free to hop on the council website (www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz), look up the contact details for our elected members and you can just contact one of the members who is elected in your area. Or one that maybe you know by name and ask them if they would like to to share some experience with you."
Elodie: "Another really important thing that we recommend is to be an informed candidate. So when you stand, it's a really good idea to have a look at, as I mentioned before, our council meetings, you can view them online - they also have public meetings. So you can just go and spend an hour there, sit in the room and listen to the conversations. Just so that you really get a feel for the kind of meetings and decisions you might be a part of."
[The URL infocouncil.govt.nz appears on the screen.]
Elodie: "We also recommend that you inform yourself by reading our key council plans such as our local board plans, our 10-year budget... to see what's planned for the region and what decisions have been made. It's also really important of course to talk to your local community. Because they are potential future voters and hear about what matters to them, what key issues are on their minds so that that can be part of your campaign when you put yourself out there."
Elodie: "We have a website for our local election which is voteauckland.co.nz. There is a lot of information on that that would be really valuable for you if you decide to stand. And as I mentioned earlier on Vote Auckland, you will also have the opportunity to fill in a very comprehensive profile to really share with your potential voters a little bit more about yourself."
Elodie: "And one last thing to note, and it can be quite stressful to stand as a candidate, but we really expect our candidates to maintain good standards of behaviour and, basically behave as someone that your electorate will be able to respect and look up to and want to vote for, and it's important to know that there might be consequences to bad behaviour."
[New slide appears with the heading 'If elected' detailing all the tasks that need to be completed by elected members within the first few months.]
Elodie: "And finally, if elected, you need to know to note this: onboarding inaugurations commence immediately. It can be quite a journey to stand as a candidate and campaign and go through an election. So sometimes you might think I've been elected, I can now go for a bit of a break. I've earned a little holiday, but actually right after the election ends, the inauguration and onboarding starts."
Elodie: "So those first months can get quite busy because you're required to learn about the council systems and processes and set up your technology and go through some training and read a lot of material so it's really important that you commit time to that process in those first few months and that you make yourself available. We will be sharing those key dates with our candidates after the nominations so you'll be able to make sure that you are available if you are elected so you don't miss out."
[New slide with 'Want to know more' written in a red bubble on the left-hand side and contact information on the right: "Visit voteauckland.govt.nz/beacandidate, get in touch at elections@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and contact the Electoral Office at 09 973 5212 or info@electionservices.co.nz]
Elodie: "Finally, just a few extra resources here. So I mentioned Vote Auckland. We have a page specifically with a lot of resources that can be helpful for people considering standing as a candidate. So it's at voteauckland.co.nz/beacandidate. You can also get in touch with myself and my team at: elections@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or you can contact our Electoral Officer Dale, who's on the call tonight and we've got his phone number and also the email, info@electionservices.co.nz."
[A new slide with a white question mark inside a red circle appears on screen. The screen changes to show a close up of Dale on the left and Elodie on the right.]
Elodie: "And now it's time for your questions. We'll be going through some of the questions that would have been posted in our Q&A. Okay. The first question is: you described remuneration as salary. Does that mean it also has sick leave? Is that a question you're able to answer Dale, please? So remuneration is described as salary, does that mean it also comes with sick leave and those other kind of standard benefits you see as an employee?"
Dale: "It's a contract arrangement. So no it doesn't, but it's a remuneration package. Which includes, for example, the mayor has a car, so there are other additional benefits, but it is a contract position, so it is what it is, is remuneration."
Elodie: "Thank you. Dale. Do we have any other questions coming through? I only see one."
Bron: "Here's another question. 'Do you need to be affiliated with a political party?' "
Elodie: "Do you want to do that one as well Dale?"
Dale: "No you do not. A lot of people state on their nomination paper that that they are independent because they are sending a message to the electorate that they are independent of any political parties or organisations. A number of people like to a align themselves with an organisation or political party and others again prefer to have nothing, so it's entirely over to each candidate's choice as to what they wish to appear."
Elodie: "Thank you Dale. We have another question, 'where can we find the video recording?' So if you mean this session, we will be uploading the recording to our council YouTube channel and we will post a link to it on Vote Auckland. A second question is: 'electors who are nominating have to be on a particular designation. So I'm understanding that if you want to stand as an affiliated candidate, do your nominators have to be affiliated as well?'"
Dale: "No, they do not. So as long as your two nominators are electors from the area that you're standing in, that's fine. They do not need to be affiliated or anything like that. They just need to be electors on the electoral roll from the area you're standing in."
Elodie: "Thank you. Another question: 'is any KiwiSaver deducted or is it optional?' Do we know about that one Dale?"
Dale: "I do not know the answer to that, my apologies, but we can find that out."
Elodie: "Alright, another question about affiliation. This one notes there are two main parties, City Vision, et cetera. Is it advisable to stand within that group as a first timer?"
Dale: "You can certainly if you wanted to join an affiliation, but you have to get their permission. So you have to talk to them and say, I'd like to be part of your group or affiliation, is that okay. And then you join. Does that answer your question? You just can't rock up or use that affiliation without any approval."
Elodie: "Yes, that's right. And in terms of is it advisable to stand as a first timer with an affiliation? We don't really have evidence of that. I don't think about whether being part of a ticket or a party gives you more chances of success. Do you know about that Dale? Is that, is that something that helps candidates at all?"
Dale: "It's really variable. I mean, as I said earlier, some people prefer and get elected on being an independent for that very reason that they are independent and others prefer to stand on a ticket and identify with that and actually get elected. So it's really just what suits the particular position that you're standing for and your own views."
Elodie: "Thank you. Another question has come through asking 'are candidates only able to stand in the area they reside in'.""
Dale: "No, that's not correct. Though a person can live anywhere in New Zealand and stand in Auckland, for example. So they can be living in Invercargill and stand in Auckland for example, but they must of course be nominated by two electors from the area that they're standing in, so just need to be a parliamentary elector. Anywhere in New Zealand."
Elodie: "Thank you, Dale. Another question is asking if nominator can be a family member."
Dale: "That is correct, as long as they are an elector from the area that the person is standing. And yes, they can."
Elodie: "Right, another question is asking about the video recordings of meetings of local board members. So these can be found under council websites. So on the council website aucklandcouncil.govt.nz there's a search button there. So if you type local board meetings will be directed to the right page."
Elodie: "So someone is making a comment that they have been approached by one group to join an affiliation and asked if that person would have interest in standing with them but do not, they don't necessarily hold the same overall view. Do you have any advice there, Dale?"
Dale: "Look again, it's an individual decision. If you affiliate with that group and you are like minded, yes, but if you feel that uncomfortable or don't wish to align yourself, then it's a personal choice and just say no. But entirely your own call."
Elodie: "Thank you. Right, any more questions? I'm just scrolling through to make sure I haven't missed any of them. If, if any of you still have some questions, we still have a few minutes on this call, so feel free to pop them into Q&A now. You can also always contact Dale or myself at those email addresses we've mentioned and we will be sharing the presentation online as well."
Elodie: "So those contact details and contact details are available on Vote Auckland, so you can get in touch with us at any point if you have any further questions."
Dale: "If I could just add a little bit while we're waiting, on that question about 'can I live anywhere in New Zealand and stand in a particular area', and the answer was yes, you can. However, there is a part of the nomination paper that states whether you reside within or without the area that you're standing in and that statement shows on your candidate profile statement so voters can actually see it. So if you do live in Hamilton for example and stand in Auckland, then a statement on your candidate profile statement will say 'I reside outside of the area'."
Elodie: "Thank you, Dale. I don't think we've had any other questions. We've had something just come through. I know 'what are some fish hooks to look out for like social media posts, speech, et cetera'."
Dale: "Interesting one here. Social media is a really interesting one that gets seems to get worse every three years. So it is a bit of a fish hook. Just be aware of that and also be aware that you cannot use council facilities or council social media or anything like that. So be very strict on that. But, another emerging issue is fake news. We just have to be aware of that. And you as a candidate will have to be aware of that, that you do not want posts of fake news appearing, which of course are fake and totally false. That could jeopardise your campaign. So just be very mindful of that."
Elodie: "Thank you, Dale. I'm not seeing any new questions coming through. So we might finish this presentation and discussion little bit ahead of time. As I said earlier, we will be putting the recording online. We will be putting online a copy of this presentation as well. So you can always refer to it later. Oh, sorry, I just saw a last-minute question come in. 'If I live in South Auckland but own property in central Auckland and want to stand there'. So I think you've answered that one Dale right?"
Dale: "Yes that's fine, absolutely fine."
Elodie: "Yep. Live anywhere in New Zealand and stand anywhere. That's right. Perfect. Thank you. Alright, well then thanks everyone for your time this evening. Hopefully you found it informative. We'll be sharing this information with you after this session, putting it online so you can refer to it later."
Elodie: "We are always available if you have any further questions at a later stage and will be sending a short survey tomorrow so that you can share some of your feedback with us and we will be running more of these sessions next year so we can take that feedback on board and improve the information we're sharing. Thank you all and have a good evening."
[Video ends]
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