Albany ward (local government)
Ward of Auckland in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Albany ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects two councillors and covers the area of the Hibiscus and Bays and Upper Harbour local boards. The two councillors are currently John Watson and Victoria Short for the 2025-2028 term.[3]
Albany ward | |
|---|---|
| |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Island | North Island |
| Region | Auckland Region |
| Area | |
| • Land | 179.74 km2 (69.40 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2025)[2] | |
• Total | 205,600 |
| • Density | 1,144/km2 (2,963/sq mi) |
Demographics
Albany ward covers 179.74 km2 (69.40 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 205,600 as of June 2025, with a population density of 1,144 people per km2.
Albany ward had a population of 190,992 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 24,138 people (14.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 47,493 people (33.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 93,375 males, 97,008 females and 606 people of other genders in 65,652 dwellings.[6] 3.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 39.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 35,697 people (18.7%) aged under 15 years, 33,342 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 90,375 (47.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 31,578 (16.5%) aged 65 or older.[5]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 65.1% European (Pākehā); 6.7% Māori; 2.7% Pasifika; 30.6% Asian; 2.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 92.9%, Māori language by 1.1%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 31.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 47.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.[5]
Religious affiliations were 31.8% Christian, 2.0% Hindu, 1.3% Islam, 0.2% Māori religious beliefs, 1.5% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.2% Jewish, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.4%, and 6.2% of people did not answer the census question.[5]
Of those at least 15 years old, 53,556 (34.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 67,665 (43.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 34,080 (21.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $47,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 27,738 people (17.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 81,450 (52.4%) people were employed full-time, 21,012 (13.5%) were part-time, and 3,384 (2.2%) were unemployed.[5]
Councillors
| Albany Ward councillors of Auckland | |
|---|---|
Incumbent John Watson Victoria Short | |
| Term length |
|
| Inaugural holder | Michael Goudie Wayne Walker |
| Formation | 1 November 2010 |
| Website | www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
| Election | Councillors elected | Affiliation | Votes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1 | Michael Goudie | Independent | 9201 | |
| 2 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 8547 | ||
| 2013 | 1 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 13918 | |
| 2 | John Watson | Putting People First | 12936 | ||
| 2016[7] | 1 | John Watson | Putting People First | 19324[8] | |
| 2 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 17938[8] | ||
| 2019 | 1 | John Watson | Putting People First | 28510[9] | |
| 2 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 24768[9] | ||
| 2022 | 1 | John Watson | Putting People First | 20575[10] | |
| 2 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 20007[10] | ||
| 2025 | 1 | Victoria Short | Fix Auckland | 16410 | |
| 2 | John Watson | Putting People First | 15449 |
Election results
Election Results for the Albany Ward:
2025
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fix Auckland | Victoria Short | 16,410 | ||
| Putting People First | John Watson† | 15,449 | ||
| Putting People First | Wayne Walker† | 14,885 | ||
| Fix Auckland | Gary Brown | 10,269 | ||
| ACT Local | Samuel Mills | 7,771 | ||
| Independent | Dylan Davey | 5,108 | ||
| Independent | Kyle Parker | 4,977 | ||
| Independent | Callum Blair | 3,172 | ||
| Independent | John McCallum | 1,372 | ||
| Informal | 105 | |||
| Blank | 1,267 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Registered | 141,257 | |||
| Fix Auckland gain from Putting People First | ||||
| Putting People First hold | ||||
| † incumbent | ||||
2022
| Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putting People First | John Watson | 20,575 | 40.43 | |
| Putting People First | Wayne Walker | 20,007 | 39.31 | |
| Independent Locals | Victoria Short | 14,968 | 29.41 | |
| Your Community Future | Jake Law | 9,120 | 17.92 | |
| Your Community Future | Sylvia Yang | 7,298 | 14.34 | |
| Independent | Tony Corbett | 6,529 | 12.83 | |
| Independent | Callum Blair | 6,480 | 12.73 | |
| Communities First | John Davies | 3,189 | 6.27 | |
| Independent | Alezix Heneti | 1,381 | 2.71 | |
| Informal | 87 | 0.17 | ||
| Blank | 3,073 | 6.04 | ||
| Turnout | 50,892 | |||
2016 Election Results
| Name | Affiliation | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Watson | Putting People First | 19,324 | 24.4% |
| 2 | Wayne Walker | Putting People First | 17,938 | 22.6% |
| Lisa Whyte | Auckland Future | 15,926 | 20.1% | |
| Graham Lowe | Auckland Future | 15,549 | 19.6% | |
| John Bensch | Independent | 5,126 | 6.5% | |
| Alezix Heneti | Independent | 1,538 | 1.9% | |
| Blank | 3,852 | 4.9% | ||
| Informal | 74 | 0.1 | ||
| Turnout | 79,327 | |||
