# Gore District Council

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Gore District Council Type Type Unicameral of Gore District, New Zealand Term limits None History Founded 6 March 1989 (1989-03-06) Leadership Mayor Ben Bell[1] Deputy mayor Joe Stringer[2] Structure Seats 12 (1 mayor, 8 ward seats, 3 other seats) Length of term 3 years Website goredc.govt.nz

**Gore District Council** is the [territorial authority](/source/Territorial_authorities_of_New_Zealand) for the [Gore District](/source/Gore_District%2C_New_Zealand) of [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand).[3]

The council is led by the [mayor of Gore](/source/Mayor_of_Gore), who is currently [Ben Bell](/source/Ben_Bell)[1]. There are also eight ward councillors and three councillors elected at large.[3]

## Composition

### Councillors

Councillors for the 2025-2028 term are:[4][2]

- Mayor: [Ben Bell](/source/Ben_Bell)

- District-wide ward: Joe Stringer (deputy mayor), Torrone Smith, Neville Phillips

- Gore ward: Mel Cupit, Paul McPhail, Andy Fraser, Robert McKenzie, Donna Bruce

- Gore rural ward: John Gardyne, Stewart MacDonell

- Mataura ward: Nicky Coats

### Community boards

- Mataura Community Board: Steven Dixon, Michelle Hamilton, Tanya Rowling, Laurel Turnbull[4]

## History

The council was established in 1989, directly replacing the Gore and Mataura Borough Councils and part of Southland County Council (established in 1885.[5][6]) as the [Gore District, New Zealand](/source/Gore_District%2C_New_Zealand)

In 2020, the council had 334 staff, including 28 earning more than $100,000. According to the Taxpayers' Union lobby group, residential rates averaged $2,163.[7]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-B_Bell_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-B_Bell_1-1) ["2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result"](https://www.electionz.com/LGE2025Results/ELT74GO25_Result.pdf) (PDF). Electionz. Retrieved 17 October 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Kelly_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Kelly_2-1) Kelly, Rachael (30 October 2025). ["Gore's new council sworn in"](https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360867946/gores-new-council-sworn). [The Press](/source/The_Press). Retrieved 30 October 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-aboutcouncil_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-aboutcouncil_3-1) ["About Gore District Council"](http://www.goredc.govt.nz/your-council/elected-representatives/). *goredc.govt.nz*. Gore District Council.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-2025_results_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-2025_results_4-1) ["2025 Triennial Elections DECLARATION OF RESULT"](https://www.electionz.com/LGE2025Results/ELT74GO25_Result.pdf) (PDF). *www.electionz.com*. Gore District Council. Retrieved 30 October 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-gore_5-0)** ["Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966: Gore"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080906151742/http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/G/Gore/Gore/en). Archived from [the original](https://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/G/Gore/Gore/en) on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FraserB_6-0)** Fraser, B (1986). *The New Zealand Book of Events*. Auckland: Reed Methuen.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RatepayersReport_7-0)** ["Ratepayers Report"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210208225400/https://www.ratepayersreport.nz/). *ratepayersreport.nz*. Taxpayers' Union. Archived from [the original](https://www.ratepayersreport.nz/) on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.goredc.govt.nz)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gore District Council](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_District_Council) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_District_Council?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.