Results of the 2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections in Southland

2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections
(Southland)

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

For broader coverage of this topic, see Results of the 2025 New Zealand territorial authority elections.

Elections for the territorial authorities of New Zealand will be held from 9 September until 11 October 2025 as part of that year's nation-wide local elections. 709 local councillors and 66 mayors will be elected across 66 of 67 councils.

3 territorial authorities are located in the Southland region. 3 mayors and 35 district and city councillors will be elected.

Southland District Council

2025 Southland District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Mayor before election Rob Scott Independent Elected mayor TBD

Council election

12 seats on the Southland District Council 7 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– Independent 4 to be determined 8 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Southland mayoral election

2025 Southland mayoral election ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent

Mararoa Waimea ward

Mararoa Waimea ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Sarah Greaney	unopposed
	Independent	Tom O'Brien	unopposed
	Independent	Matt Wilson	unopposed
Registered
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Waiau Aparima ward

Waiau Aparima ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Ōreti ward

Ōreti ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Waihōpai Toetoe ward

Waihōpai Toetoe ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent

Stewart Island/Rakiura ward

Stewart Island/Rakiura ward ^[1]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Jon Spraggon	unopposed
Registered
	Independent hold

Gore District Council

2025 Gore District Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →
Turnout	4,991 (54.97%)
Mayoral election
Candidate Ben Bell Nicky Davis Affiliation Independent Independent Popular vote 3,392 1,508 Percentage 67.96 30.21
Mayor before election Ben Bell Team Hokonui Elected mayor Ben Bell Independent
Council election
11 seats on the Gore District Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Party Seats +/– Independent 11 +5 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Gore mayoral election

2025 Gore mayoral election ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Ben Bell	3,392	67.96
	Independent	Nicky Davis	1,508	30.21
Informal			1	0.02
Blank			90	1.80
Turnout			4,991	54.97
Registered			9,079
	Independent gain from Team Hokonui (incumbent changed affiliation)

At-large

At-large ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Torrone Smith	2,998
	Independent	Neville Phillips	2,803
	Independent	Joe Stringer	2,647
	Independent	Steven Dixon	1,881
	Independent	Gary McIntyre	1,718
Informal			12
Blank			152
Turnout
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent gain from Team Hokonui (incumbent changed affiliation)

Rural ward

Rural ward ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	John Gardyne	unopposed
	Independent	Stewart MacDonell	unopposed
Registered
	Independent win (new ward)
	Independent win (new ward)

Mataura ward

Mataura ward ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote
	Independent	Nicky Coats	unopposed
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent

Gore ward

Gore ward ^[2]

Affiliation		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Mel Cupit	2,215
	Independent	Paul McPhail	2,149
	Independent	Andy Fraser	1,998
	Independent	Robert "Caveman" McKenzie	1,805
	Independent	Donna Bruce	1,387
	Independent	Jess Hudson	1,015
Informal			1
Blank			51
Turnout
Registered
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Independent
	Independent gain from Team Hokonui (incumbent changed affiliation)
	Independent gain from Independent

Invercargill City Council

Main article: 2025 Invercargill City Council election

2025 Invercargill City Council election

← 2022 11 October 2025 2028 →

Mayoral election

Mayor before election Nobby Clark LETS GO Invercargill Elected mayor TBD

Council election

12 seats on the Invercargill City Council 7 seats needed for a majority

Party Seats +/– to be determined 12 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

2025 Invercargill mayoral election

2025 Invercargill mayoral election ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	LETS GO Invercargill incumbent

At-large

At-large ^[3]

Affiliation		Candidate	Vote	%
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
		to be determined
Informal
Blank
Total
Registered
	Independent incumbent
	LETS GO Invercargill incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	LETS GO Invercargill incumbent
	LETS GO Invercargill incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	Independent incumbent
	LETS GO Invercargill incumbent

See also

• Results of the 2025 New Zealand regional council elections#Environment Southland

References

1. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.
2. Morton, Anthony (16 October 2025). "Gore District Council – 2025 Triennial Elections – Declaration of Result" (PDF). ElectioNZ.
3. Placeholder reference – results to be confirmed following election.