A body representing irrigators wants rural voters to have a greater say than urban voters in electing Canterbury regional councillors.
A select committee is considering a bill which proposes seven elected members and six appointed commissioners for next year's local government elections.
The Waitaki Irrigators Collective told the select committee it wanted to see wards established not on a population basis but on a per-square-kilometre basis, meaning more rural based councillors than urban ones.
It said most of the lakes and rivers that the council monitored were outside of Christchurch, and it would be appropriate for people near those waterways to have a greater say.
