Editing Marlborough District (section)

==Government and politics==
Marlborough is administered by a [[unitary authority]], the [[Marlborough District Council]]. Between 1859 and 1876 Marlborough had its own provincial government, and was known as the [[Marlborough Province]], which ended when the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 November 1876.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rulers.org/newzprov.html|title=New Zealand provinces 1848–77|website=rulers.org}}</ref>

The Marlborough District Council consists of a mayor and 14 councillors. The councillors are elected from three wards: seven from the Blenheim ward, three each from the Marlborough Sounds and Wairau-Awatere wards, and one from the Marlborough Māori ward. The mayor is elected at-large. Elections are held every three years in conjunction with [[Local elections in New Zealand|nationwide local elections]], with the next election in 2025. 

As of October 2022, the mayor and councillors are:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Councillors – Marlborough District Council |url=https://www.marlborough.govt.nz/your-council/councillors |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=www.marlborough.govt.nz}}</ref>

* Mayor: Nadine Taylor
* Councillors – Blenheim ward: Jamie Arbuckle, David Croad (deputy mayor), Deborah Dalliessi, Brian Dawson, Matt Flight, Jonathan Rosene, Thelma Sowman
* Councillors – Marlborough Sounds ward: Barbara Faulls, Raylene Innes, Ben Minehan
* Councillors – Wairau-Awatere ward: Scott Adams, Sally Arbuckle, Gerald Hope
* Councillors – Marlborough Māori Ward: Allanah Burgess

Nationally, Marlborough is part of the [[Kaikōura (New Zealand electorate)|Kaikōura electorate]], which also includes the Canterbury region north of the [[Ashley River / Rakahuri]]. For the Māori roll, Marlborough is part of the [[Te Tai Tonga]] electorate, as is the entire South Island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.org.nz/voters/find-my-electorate|title=Find my Electorate|website=Electoral Commission|language=en|access-date=2019-06-26}}</ref> The electorate was first contested in the [[1996 New Zealand general election|1996 general election]], the first under the new [[Mixed-member proportional representation|MMP voting system]]. From 1938 to 1996, the region was covered by the [[Marlborough (New Zealand electorate)|Marlborough electorate]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Electoral Atlas of New Zealand|last=McRobie|first=Alan|publisher=GP Books|year=1989|isbn=0-477-01384-8|location=Wellington|pages=87–93}}</ref>

Marlborough is considered a safe area for the [[New Zealand National Party|National Party]], with the region held continuously by the party since the [[1975 New Zealand general election|1975 general election]]. [[Stuart Smith (politician)|Stuart Smith]] of the National Party has been the MP for the Kaikōura electorate since the [[2014 New Zealand general election|2014 general election]]. [[Tākuta Ferris]] from [[Te Pāti Māori]] has been the MP for the Te Tai Tonga electorate since 2023.

A combined [[District Court of New Zealand|District]] and [[High Court of New Zealand|High Court]] at Blenheim serves the region judicially.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/utilities/contact/courts|title=Contact a court — Courts of New Zealand|website=www.courtsofnz.govt.nz|access-date=2019-06-26}}</ref>