Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is the territorial authority for the Western Bay of Plenty District of New Zealand.^[2]

Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Type
Type	Unicameral of Western Bay of Plenty District
Houses	Governing Body
Term limits	None
History
Founded	March 6, 1989 (1989-03-06)
Leadership
Mayor	James Denyer[1]
Structure
Seats	12 seats (1 mayor, 11 ward seats)
Length of term	3 years
Website
westernbay.govt.nz

Leadership and structure

The council is led by the mayor of Western Bay of Plenty, who is currently James Denyer^[3]. There are also 11 ward councillors.^[2]

History

In mid-March 2025, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council voted to leave Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), the national advocacy body for local and regional governments in New Zealand, by a margin of six to five. Councillor Tracey Coxhead justified the decision by claiming that LGNZ lacked professionalism and was pursuing an agenda on climate change while Councillor Margaret Murray-Beng claimed the LGNZ had "swung left" and no longer represented councilors' beliefs.^[4]