Holiday home owners enrol now to vote

If you own a holiday home or other property in the Western Bay District but live elsewhere you are entitled to vote in this year's council elections.

You pay rates like all other property owners in the Western Bay so there should be “no taxation without representation”, as the nearly 400-year-old saying goes.

This is particularly important in Waihi Beach and Bowentown as, without the votes of holiday home owners, these areas are underrepresented among council voters. Only a few hundred voters were on the ratepayer roll at the last election.

Each property gets a maximum of one ratepayer vote and you need to confirm your place on the ratepayer roll every three years. If you were on the roll for the last election, you should have received a letter asking you to confirm you still qualify.

If not, you can fill in the form here: https://www.electionz.com/ratepayers/index.html

For more details about the election, see this page on the Western Bay District Council website: https://yourplace.westernbay.govt.nz/hub-page/elections

Note that the ratepayer roll is not just for holiday homes. It also applies to commercial premises, rental properties – any person, company or trust that pays rates but is based outside the district.

Don’t miss out on your say in this year’s council elections - enrol now!