Editing Canterbury Region (section)

==Government and politics==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2024}}

===Local government===
The Canterbury Region is administered by the [[Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury)|Canterbury Regional Council]]. The area includes ten [[Territorial authorities of New Zealand|territorial authorities]], including [[Christchurch City Council]] and part of the [[Waitaki District]], the other part of which is in Otago. Following the [[1989 local government reforms|local government reform of 1989]], [[Kaikōura District]] was part of the [[Nelson-Marlborough Regional Council|Nelson-Marlborough Region]]. That region was later abolished and replaced with three [[unitary authorities]]. Kaikōura was too small to function as an independent unitary authority and was moved under the jurisdiction of the Canterbury Regional Council in 1992. However, Kaikōura remains part of Marlborough in the minds of many people. In 2006, the Banks Peninsula District was merged into Christchurch City following a 2005 referendum.

===National government===
The Canterbury Region is covered by ten general electorates and one Māori electorate. The city of Christchurch as a whole consists of five of these electorates, while the electorate of [[Waimakariri (New Zealand electorate)|Waimakariri]] contains a mix of Christchurch and exurban Canterbury. The [[Banks Peninsula (New Zealand electorate)|Banks Peninsula]], [[Ilam (New Zealand electorate)|Ilam]], and [[Waimakariri (New Zealand electorate)|Waimakariri]] electorates are currently held by members of the governing [[New Zealand National Party|National Party]] (as part of the coalition-led [[Sixth National Government of New Zealand]]) [[Vanessa Weenink]], [[Hamish Campbell]], and [[Matt Doocey]]. Meanwhile, the [[Christchurch Central]], [[Christchurch East]], and [[Wigram (New Zealand electorate)|Wigram]] electorates are currently held by opposition ([[Labour Party (New Zealand)|Labour Party]]) members [[Duncan Webb]], [[Reuben Davidson]], and [[Megan Woods]] respectively.

In contrast to Christchurch, much of the surrounding Canterbury Region is dominated by the National Party due to its ties to rural farming and business interests. The large [[Kaikōura (New Zealand electorate)|Kaikōura]] electorate covers all of the [[Marlborough Region]] and northern Canterbury and is represented by National MP [[Stuart Smith (politician)|Stuart Smith]]. The substantial [[Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)|Waitaki]] electorate, held by National MP [[Miles Anderson (politician)|Miles Anderson]], covers most of [[South Canterbury]] and neighbouring [[North Otago]]. [[Rangitata (New Zealand electorate)|Rangitata]] and [[Selwyn (New Zealand electorate)|Selwyn]] are held by National members [[James Meager]] and [[Nicola Grigg]] respectively.

Under the [[Māori electorates]] system, Canterbury is part of the large [[Te Tai Tonga (New Zealand electorate)|Te Tai Tonga]] electorate which covers the entire South Island, the surrounding islands and most of [[Wellington]] in the North Island. It is currently held by [[Tākuta Ferris]] of [[Te Pāti Māori]].

Judicially, the region is served by four [[District Court of New Zealand|District Courts]] at Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru and Kaikōura, and two [[High Court of New Zealand|High Courts]] at Christchurch and Timaru.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/utilities/contact/courts|title=Contact a court – Courts of New Zealand|website=courtsofnz.govt.nz|access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> The Christchurch High Court also hosts a divisional court of the [[Court of Appeal of New Zealand|Court of Appeal]].