Chatham Islands Council
The Chatham Islands Council is the local government authority for the Chatham Islands in New Zealand. The council has many of the functions, duties and powers of a district council and of a regional council, making it in effect a unitary authority with slightly fewer responsibilities than other unitary authorities.
History
The Chatham Islands was incorporated into the Colony of New Zealand by the British in 1842. The first local government set up on the islands was the Chatham Islands Māori Council in 1900.
Chatham Islands County was established in 1901, though the Chatham Islands County Council was not established until 1926.
Succeeding the county council, the Chatham Islands Council was established by the Chatham Islands Council Act 1995 (Statute No 041, Commenced: 1 November 1995) to administer the Chatham Islands and the adjoining sea, known as the "Chatham Islands Territory".
Composition
The Chatham Islands Council comprises a mayor and eight councillors, all elected at-large by a first-past-the-post system.
Monique Croon was first elected as mayor in the 2019 local elections. At the 2022 local elections, since the number of candidates did not exceed the number of vacancies, the candidates for the councillors were declared elected without an election being held.