Communities and Residents

Communities and Residents (C&R) is a right-leaning local body ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed in 1938 as Citizens & Ratepayers, with a view to controlling the Auckland City Council and preventing left-leaning Labour Party control. It controlled the council most of the time from World War II until the council was merged into the Auckland Council in 2010. It changed its name from "Citizens & Ratepayers" to "Communities and Residents" in 2012.

Communities & Residents
President	David Hay
Founded	1938
Colours	Blue
Auckland Council	1 / 20
Local Boards	26 / 149
Entrust trustees	5 / 5
Politics of New Zealand Political parties Elections c-r.nz

Background

The Citizens & Ratepayers Association was formed in 1938. It was formed with the intention to "secure the return of the best possible types of candidate to the Auckland City Council, Harbour Board, Hospital Board and Electric Power Board". It also intended to "preserve local government in all its then present forms, protecting it from any influence and interference of party politics".^[1]

C&R has long been aligned with the National Party, which traditionally does not field its own candidates in Auckland local body elections, unlike the Labour Party and the Green Party.^[2][3]

Platform and positions

History

2010–present

2010–2013 term

The group changed their name to "Communities & Residents" in 2012, following a review of the organisation's performance at the 2010 election. Other changes adopted after the review included abandoning the "whipping" system used in voting on council issues.^[4]

2022 election

Main article: 2022 Auckland Council election

C&R endorsed former Chief Executive of Heart of the City Viv Beck for the Auckland mayoralty, and would succeed in increasing its share of Auckland local board members and Licensing Trustees.^[5]

2022–2025 term

For broader coverage of this topic, see 2022–2025 term of the Auckland Council.

In 2025, it was revealed that Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson had resigned from C&R, leaving Christine Fletcher as the group's only councillor.^[6]

List of representatives

2022–2025 term

Communities and Residents elected members for the 2022–2025 term included:^{[‡ 1]}

Ward	Name	Photo
Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa	Christine Fletcher
Ōrākei	Desley Simpson (until late 2024)
Local board	Subdivision	Name
Albert-Eden (split control)	Mangawhau	Kendyl Smith
		Jack Tan
		José Fowler
		Rex Smith
Devonport-Takapuna (in minority)		George Wood
		Gavin Busch
Howick (in minority)	Pakuranga	Katrina Bungard
		David Collings
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki (in minority)	Maungakiekie	Dan Allan
		Debbie Burrows
		Tony Woodcock
Ōrākei (in majority)		Troy Churton
		David Wong
		Scott Milne
		Penny Tucker
		Sarah Powrie
		Margaret Voyce
		Angus McPhee
Puketāpapa (in majority)		Ella Kumar
		Roseanne Hay
		Fiona Lai
		Mark Pervan
Waitematā (in majority)		Sarah Trotman
		Genevieve Sage
		Allan Matson
		Greg Moyle
Licensing trust	Ward	Name
Mount Wellington (in majority)		Tania Batucan
		Troy Elliot
		Tabetha Elliot
		Michael Pepper

Summary of election on results

Election	Candidates nominated				Seats won
	Council candidates	Local/Community board candidates	Health board candidates	Licensing trust candidates	Council seats	Local/Community board seats	Health board seats	Licensing trust seats
2001[‡ 2]	18/19	33/52	7/7	0/9	9 / 19	15 / 52	3 / 7	0 / 9
2004[‡ 3]	17/19	32/47	7/7	4/9	6 / 19	9 / 47	3 / 7	1 / 9
2007[‡ 4]	16/19	26/52	5/7	2/9	11 / 19	19 / 52	2 / 7	1 / 9
2010	14/20	82/149	16/21	7/41	5 / 20	31 / 149	7 / 21	3 / 41
2013	4/20	19/149	8/21	0/35	3 / 20	12 / 149	4 / 21	0 / 35
2016	3/20	21/149	5/21	0/35	2 / 20	11 / 149	2 / 21	0 / 35
2019[‡ 5][‡ 6][‡ 7]	6/20	49/149	14/21	3/35	3 / 20	21 / 149	4 / 21	1 / 35
2022[‡ 8]	8/20	45/149	Abolished	5/35	2 / 20	26 / 149	Abolished	4 / 35

Entrust trustee elections

C&R's record of tenure on Entrust seats for the elections since 2000.

Election	Candidates nominated	Seats won
	Trustee candidates	Trust seats
2003[‡ 9]	5/5	4 / 5
2006[‡ 10]	5/5	4 / 5
2009[‡ 11]	5/5	5 / 5
2012[‡ 12]	5/5	5 / 5
2015[‡ 13]	5/5	5 / 5
2018[‡ 14]	5/5	5 / 5
2021[‡ 15]	5/5	5 / 5
2024[‡ 16]	5/5	5 / 5