2025 Hawke's Bay Regional Council election
Elections in New Zealand
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The 2025 Hawke's Bay Regional Council election was a local election held from 9 September to 11 October in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand, as part of that year's regional council elections and other local elections held nation-wide. Postal voting and the first-past-the-post voting system were used.
11 October 2025
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| Turnout | 53,561 (49.0%) [1] | ||||||||
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11 seats on the Hawke's Bay Regional Council 6 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||
The Hawke's Bay Regional Council is made up of 11 councillors elected from 7 constituencies: Ahuriri/Napier (three councillors), Heretaunga/Hastings (three councillors), Wairoa, Ngaruroro, Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay and two Māori constituencies (Māui ki te Raki and Māui ki te Tonga).
Key dates
- 4 July 2025: Nominations for candidates opened.
- 1 August 2025: Nominations for candidates closed at 12pm.
- 6 August 2025: Candidates announced.
- 9 September 2025: Voting documents were posted and voting opened.
- 11 October 2025: Voting closed at 12pm and preliminary results released.
- 16 October 2025: Final results will be declared.[2]
Background
Referendum
In October 2021, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council voted to create two Māori constituencies for the 2022 & 2025 elections.[3]
In July 2024, the National-led coalition government passed the Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2024 which reinstated the requirement that councils must hold a referendum before establishing Māori wards or constituencies. The council then voted unanimously in August 2024 to affirm their decision to establish the Māori constituencies, thereby triggering a referendum on the constituencies to be held alongside the 2025 local elections.[4][5]
Campaign
Referendum
A group called For Wards Hawke’s Bay formed to support the pro-ward position at the referendums in the wider Hawke's Bay region. The group held a meeting on 23 July in Clive chaired by regional council chair Rex Graham, with various speakers including local Presbyterian minister Jill McDonald, Hastings Māori ward councillor Heather Te Au-Skipworth, HB Multicultural Society president Rizwaana Latiff and Hayley Whittaker from the Public Service Association.[6]
List of candidates
Incumbents not seeking re-election
- Will Foley, incumbent deputy chair and second-term councillor for the Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay constituency[7]
- Xan Harding, incumbent councillor for the Heretaunga/Hastings constituency[7]
- Charles Lambert, incumbent councillor for the Māui Ki Te Raki Māori constituency[7]
- Martin Williams, incumbent councillor for the Ahuriri/Napier constituency[7]
As of February, deputy chair Will Foley (Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay), Xan Harding (Heretaunga/Hastings), and Di Roadley (Wairoa) had not decided if they would run again.[8]
Hawke's Bay Today reported on 31 May that Foley would run for mayor of Central Hawke's Bay against incumbent Alex Walker, Foley saying his time on the regional council was up.[9]
Councillors
Ahuriri/Napier general constituency
The Ahuriri/Napier general constituency returned three councillors to the regional council.[2]
| Candidate[10] | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Bailey | Independent | Former regional councillor[12][13] | |
| Hayley Browne | None | Incumbent Napier city councillor[14][13] | |
| Syed Khurram Iqbal | None | Chartered engineer[15][13] | |
| Neil Kirton | None | Incumbent councillor[7][8][13] | |
| Hinewai Ormsby | SAFER waterways. STRONGER communities. | Incumbent chairperson[7][8][13] | |
| Louise Parsons | Independent | [13] | |
Heretaunga/Hastings general constituency
The Heretaunga/Hastings general constituency returned three councillors to the regional council.[2]
Wairoa general constituency
The Wairoa general constituency returned one councillor to the regional council.[2]
Ngaruroro general constituency
The Ngaruroro general constituency returned one councillor to the regional council.[2]
Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay general constituency
The Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay general constituency returned one councillor to the regional council.[2]
| Candidate[10] | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Aitken | None | Incumbent councillor for the Central Hawke's Bay District Council[16][13] | |
| Tony Kuklinski | Independent | [13] | |
| Keri Ropiha | None | [13] | |
Māui ki te Tonga Māori constituency
The Māui ki te Tonga Māori constituency returned one councillor to the regional council.[2]
| Candidate[10] | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Hokianga | None | Incumbent councillor[7] | |
As the only candidate, Hokianga was elected unopposed.[13]
Māui ki te Raki Māori constituency
The Māui ki te Raki Māori constituency returned one councillor to the regional council.[2]
| Candidate[10] | Affiliation[a] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelle McIlroy | None | [13] | |
| Shelton White | None | [13] | |
Results
Wairoa general constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Di Roadley | 1,143 | 62.49 | −1.33 | |
| Independent | Kiri Rangirangi-Hamlin | 532 | 29.09 | (new) | |
| Informal | 2 | 0.11 | +0.11 | ||
| Blank | 152 | 8.31 | −1.57 | ||
| Turnout | 1,829 | (58.92) | (+1.06) | ||
| Registered | 3,104 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| incumbent | |||||
Ahuriri/Napier general constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Neil Kirton | 10,820 | 54.78 | −14.68 | |
| Independent | Louise Parsons | 9,287 | 47.02 | (new) | |
| Independent | Hinewai Ormsby | 8,676 | 43.92 | −8.90 | |
| Independent | Hayley Browne | 8,077 | 40.89 | (new) | |
| Independent | Paul Bailey | 5,744 | 29.08 | (new) | |
| Independent | Syed Iqbal | 4,763 | 24.11 | (new) | |
| Informal | 17 | 0.09 | +0.06 | ||
| Blank | 617 | 3.12 | +0.57 | ||
| Turnout | 19,752 | (47.80) | (+5.10) | ||
| Registered | 41,326 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| incumbent | |||||
Heretaunga/Hastings general constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jock Mackintosh | 9,534 | 60.08 | +0.34 | |
| Independent | Sophie Siers | 9,507 | 59.91 | +3.88 | |
| Independent | Conrad Waitoa | 7,459 | 47.00 | (new) | |
| Independent | Bruce Mackay | 6,600 | 41.59 | (new) | |
| Informal | 3 | 0.02 | −0.12 | ||
| Blank | 1,376 | 8.67 | +4.84 | ||
| Turnout | 15,869 | (45.36) | (+9.15) | ||
| Registered | 34,983 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
| incumbent | |||||
Ngāruroro general constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jerf van Beek | 4,370 | 59.46 | n/a | |
| Independent | Marcus Ormond | 2,579 | 35.09 | (new) | |
| Informal | 0 | 0.00 | n/a | ||
| Blank | 411 | 5.59 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | 7,360 | (51.90) | n/a | ||
| Registered | 14,180 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| incumbent | |||||
Tamatea/Central Hawke's Bay general constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Tony Kuklinski | 2,197 | 39.18 | (new) | |
| Independent | Tim Aitken | 2,189 | 39.04 | (new) | |
| Independent | Keri Ropiha | 891 | 15.89 | (new) | |
| Informal | 26 | 0.46 | n/a | ||
| Blank | 304 | 5.42 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | 5,607 | (58.45) | n/a | ||
| Registered | 9,593 | ||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
Māui ki te Raki Māori constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Michelle McIlroy | 1,898 | 60.72 | +19.28 | |
| Independent | Shelton White | 1,032 | 33.01 | (new) | |
| Informal | 0 | 0.00 | −0.11 | ||
| Blank | 196 | 6.27 | −2.24 | ||
| Turnout | 3,126 | (51.20) | +25.77 | ||
| Registered | 6,105 | ||||
| Independent gain from Independent | |||||
Māui ki te Tonga Māori constituency
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Thompson Hokianga | Unopposed | ||
| Registered | 9,928 | |||
| Independent hold | ||||
| incumbent | ||||
Referendum on Māori constituencies
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 I vote to REMOVE Māori constituencies |
31,539 | 48.02 | |
 I vote to KEEP Māori constituencies |
30,878 | 47.01 | |
| Informal | 38 | 0.06 | |
| Blank | 3,226 | 4.91 | |
| Turnout | 65,681 | (48.59) | |
| Registered | 135,165 | ||
| Result: | Māori constituencies to be abolished at next election. | ||
See also
Notes
- A candidate may leave their affiliation blank, run as an independent, or run with an affiliation to an organisation, local body ticket or political party. Hawke's Bay Regional Council does not allow whānau, hapū, or iwi details to be used for the affiliation.[11]