01746nam a2200181Ia 4500 181130s2018 xx 000 0 und d Webster, Karen Lesley Political representation on the new Auckland Council - has amalgamation led to greater diversity? 2018 p.331-351. Jun This paper explores the diversity of local government electoral candidates and elected members, in Auckland � one of the world's most diverse cities (Chen 2015: 56) � following the 2010 amalgamation. It responds to questions raised over the democratic gaps created by enlarged wards, a lack of diverse representation, and higher elected member ratios. The research asks the question � who stood and who was elected in the election following the Auckland 2010 reforms, and how does this compare with the city's diverse population. Pitkin's (1967) concept of descriptive representation provides the foundation for a comparison of the gender, age, and ethnicity of local population, local government candidates, and elected members, to ascertain descriptive representation. The human rights framework provides a theoretical foundation to examine the diversity of representation. Preliminary findings support the view that under the shared governance model, electoral candidates are becoming more ethnically and gender diverse at the local level; while at the regional level, the dominance of the archetypal councillor as European, middle?aged and male, prevails. - Reproduced. Local government Local government - Australia - New Auckland Fa'apoi. Emiliana Australian Journal of Public Administration Local government 506867 506867 0 0 0 0 IIPA IIPA 2018-12-07 77(2), Jun, 2018: p.331-351. AR118662 2018-12-07 2018-12-07 AR