Ōrākei Local Board


The Ōrākei Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of Auckland Council. It is coterminous with the Ōrākei ward. It was chaired in its first two terms by local politician Desley Simpson following the 2010 and 2013 elections. In the 2016 elections, Simpson stood for and won the Orakei ward councillor seat on Auckland Council. Colin Davis took her place as Chair.

Geography

The Ōrākei Local Board Area includes both the suburb of Ōrākei, and the nearby suburbs of Remuera, Ellerslie, Stonefields, St Johns, Meadowbank, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, St Heliers, Glendowie and Glen Innes. There are town centres in Ellerslie, St Johns, Remuera, Mission Bay and St Heliers.
Geographically, area is situated around the Ōrākei Basin and along a Hauraki Gulf coastline with beaches and cliffs.

Governance

The board consists of 7 members who were elected in the 2022 local elections.

Demographics

Ōrākei Local Board Area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Ōrākei Local Board Area had a population of 83,196 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 1,122 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3,657 people since the 2013 census. There were 39,921 males, 42,996 females and 279 people of other genders in 30,573 dwellings. 3.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.9 years. There were 14,520 people aged under 15 years, 15,543 aged 15 to 29, 38,577 aged 30 to 64, and 14,553 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 68.4% European ; 6.4% Māori; 3.7% Pasifika; 26.7% Asian; 3.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.4%, Māori language by 1.4%, Samoan by 0.5%, and other languages by 27.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.6%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 39.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 35.3% Christian, 2.4% Hindu, 1.4% Islam, 0.4% Māori religious beliefs, 2.1% Buddhist, 0.2% New Age, 0.7% Jewish, and 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 50.8%, and 5.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 33,750 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 24,357 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 10,563 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $58,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 18,786 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 36,624 people were employed full-time, 9,627 were part-time, and 1,443 were unemployed.

2022 local elections

Between September and October 2022, the 2022 Auckland local elections took place. The board members elected for the 2022–2025 term were:
  • Troy Churton, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • David Wong, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • Scott Milne, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • Penny Tucker, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • Sarah Powrie, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • Margaret Voyce, C&R - Communities & Residents
  • Angus Mcphee, C&R - Communities & Residents