Editing Otago (section)

==Politics==
===Local government===
The seat of the Otago Regional Council is in Dunedin. The council is chaired by Andrew Noone {{as of|2021|July|lc=on}}.

There are five [[territorial authorities of New Zealand|territorial authorities]] in Otago:
* [[Queenstown-Lakes District]]
* [[Central Otago District]]
* [[Dunedin|Dunedin City]]
* [[Clutha District]]
* [[Waitaki, New Zealand|Waitaki District]]

===Parliamentary representation===
Otago is represented by four [[New Zealand Parliament|parliamentary]] [[New Zealand electorates|electorates]]. Dunedin and nearby towns are represented by the [[Dunedin (New Zealand electorate)|Dunedin]] electorate, held by [[Rachel Brooking]], and the [[Taieri (New Zealand electorate)|Taieri]] electorate, occupied by [[Ingrid Leary]]. Both MPs are members of the Labour Party, and Dunedin has traditionally been a Labour stronghold. Since 2008 the rest of Otago has been divided between the large rural electorates of [[Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)|Waitaki]], which also includes some of the neighbouring [[Canterbury Region]], and [[Clutha-Southland]], which also includes most of the rural part of the neighbouring Southland Region. The Waitaki electorate has traditionally been a [[New Zealand National Party|National Party]] stronghold and is currently held by [[Miles Anderson (politician)|Miles Anderson]]. The [[Southland (New Zealand electorate)|Southland]] electorate, also a National Party stronghold, is currently represented by [[Joseph Mooney (New Zealand politician)|Joseph Mooney]]. The earlier [[Otago (New Zealand electorate)|Otago electorate]] existed from 1978 to 2008, when it was split and merged into Waitaki and Clutha-Southland.

Two [[Party-list proportional representation|list MPs]] are based in Dunedin – [[Michael Woodhouse]] of the National Party and [[Rachel Brooking]] of the Labour Party. One-time Labour Party Deputy Leader [[David Parker (New Zealand politician)|David Parker]] is a former MP for the Otago electorate and currently a list MP.

Under the [[Māori electorates]] system, Otago is also part of the large [[Te Tai Tonga (New Zealand electorate)|Te Tai Tonga]] electorate, which covers the entire South Island and surrounding islands, and is currently held by Te Pāti Māori Party MP [[Tākuta Ferris]].

=== Ngāi Tahu governance ===
Three of the 18 [[Ngāi Tahu]] [[Rūnanga]] (councils) are based in the Otago Region. Each one is centred on a coastal marae, namely [[Otakou|Ōtākou]], [[Moeraki]] and Puketeraki at [[Karitane]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/te-runanga-o-ngai-tahu/papatipu-runanga/ |title=Papatipu Rūnanga |website=Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu |language=en-NZ |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-date=11 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911081636/https://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/te-runanga-o-ngai-tahu/papatipu-runanga/ |url-status=live }}</ref> There is also the Arai Te Uru Marae in Dunedin.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.araiteuru.co.nz/ |title=Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora |website=Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora |language=en-NZ |access-date=30 January 2019 |archive-date=30 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130162942/http://www.araiteuru.co.nz/ |url-status=live }}</ref>