Rotorua council is pressing ‘pause’ on its Māori wards bill that would have seen equal representation for Māori and non-Māori on the council.
The bill sponsored by Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey was derailed last week when Labour’s own Attorney-General David Parker found it violated the Bill of Rights.
Existing local government legislation requires Māori seats to be assigned on a per capita of population basis.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick who was in support of the plan, devised by local Iwi Te Arawa and the council's governance committee announced the ‘pause’ in a press release Thursday, saying it would allow ‘legal advisors, parliamentary and government advisors’ to reform it within existing legislative and constitutional constraints.
Chadwick says the decision was reached during a private council meeting Thursday, Coffey says he supports the move "in order to review the [Parker's] Bill of Rights analysis".
Te Tatau o Te Arawa the body which represents Te Arawa interests within the council said in a statement Thursday it was not clear what the bill being "paused" meant.
"There are a lot of unknowns," chief executive Jude Pani said.
Pani said it was "wise to take a broader look at electoral matters" given similar decisions would be made across the motu as Māori wards are introduced.
The apparent about-face from both central and local government leaves Te Pāti Māori the sole parliamentary supporter of the bill. Co-leader and Waiariki MP Rawiri Waititi argued a 50/50 election split is in the spirit of Te Tiriti.
Waititi reiterated that support Thursday, branding the bill "brave and progressive", saying Te Pāti Māori would "defend" it.