Petitions
What is a Petition and what to expect?
Petitions may be presented to a Meeting of the Council or a Community Board, as long as the subject matter falls within the terms of reference of the intended meeting.
A petition is a paper or electronic document asking the Council or the Community Board to take a specific action to address a concern or change policy. A petition is signed by a number of people to indicate support for a proposal.
Anyone may petition the Council or the Community Board, and you do not have to be over a certain age or live within the Ruapehu District, noting however that Council and Community Boards are accountable to the Ruapehu District ratepayers.
Petitioning the Council or Community Boards is not always the only course of action. We always encourage you to discuss the matter with a staff member, Elected Members or Mayor first. Some matters can also be investigated by an Ombudsman or other agencies. Note that whilst Council or the Community Board may accept a petition from the public, this decision does not mean Council, or the Community Board is required to take action to address the issues raised in the petition.
Every petition must contain at least 20 signatures and consist of fewer than 150 words (not including signatories) and not be disrespectful, use offensive language or include malicious statements.
They must be received by the Chief Executive at least five (5) working days before the date of the Meeting at which they will be presented; however, this requirement may be waived by the chairperson.
A petitioner who presents a petition to a Meeting of Council or Community Board may speak for five (5) minutes (excluding questions) about the petition, unless the meeting resolves otherwise.
Where a petition is presented as part of a Deputation or Public Forum, the speaking time limits relating to Deputations or Public Forums shall apply.
Please be advised the Chairperson must terminate the presentation of the petition if he or she believes the petitioner is being disrespectful, offensive or making malicious statements.
Guidelines for preparing a Petition
The following are guidelines that can be used when preparing a petition for Council or a Community Board:
- Petitions should include a short statement (no more than 150 words), regarding the issue to be addressed.
- Petitions should state the name, physical address, and signature of the person or organisation who started the started the petition.
- The petition must not be disrespectful or use offensive language or statements made with malice.
- Petitions can be written and presented in English or Te Reo Māori. A petition may also be presented to Council in Sign Language. However, petitioners planning to make and/or present a petition in Te Reo Māori or sign language should advise the relevant chairperson of this at least two working days before the meeting. This is to enable the petition to be translated and reprinted (if necessary).
- Petition documents should contain a privacy waiver, advising signatories that the information gathered by the petition may be made publicly available/published.
- The Petitioner should ensure the petition is addressed directly to Ruapehu District Council.
For Paper Petitions
- Petitions should include a name, physical address and signature of each person who is in support of the proposal.
- Each subsequent page of the petition containing signatures should also contain the petition statement.
- Unless incapacitated, a person must sign the petition personally. A person signing on behalf of an incapacitated person must state this fact beside the signature.
- Signatures should be original (not photocopied, faxed, scanned, pasted or otherwise transferred onto sheets of the petition)
For Electronic Petitions
- Petitions should include the name and physical address of each person who is in support of the proposal.
- Petitions should include a closing date for the collection of signatures for your petition.
Process for receiving and presenting a Petition
- Principal petitioner sends the Petition to Council
- The Governance team checks that the Petition is in line with the Petition Guidelines and Standing Orders.
- If the Petition contains more information than full name, address and signature, the additional information is redacted from the copy of the Petition document attached to any agenda. If the Petition is received on the day of the meeting, any additional information will be redacted before the Petition is included in the minutes of the meeting.
- The petition is presented by staff to the next relevant Meeting (unless received on the day of the meeting). The principal petitioner will be advised of which Meeting the petition will be presented to.
- If the principal petitioner wishes to speak to their Petition, they will need to seek permission from the relevant Chairperson. The Governance Team will make arrangements accordingly.
- Either Council or the relevant Community Board makes decisions on next steps for the Petition, for example if further work is needed by staff to investigate the issues raised by the Petition.
- Through the Governance Team, the principal petitioner is notified of the decision.
