Two of Northland’s four councils are holding on to their new Māori wards for next year’s local elections in spite of likely having to spend thousands polling their communities.
The other two are remaining tight-lipped about their Māori ward moves.
This comes as Parliament’s justice committee which received 10,614 submissions on the government’s proposed Māori ward law change, released its report on Friday.
Northland councils and Māori leaders were among the many Te Tai Tokerau select committee submitters.
The committee’s report recommended in favour of the government’s push to reintroduce a Māori wards’ polling requirement and “all proposed legislative amendments”.
It will next go to Parliament for further debate before becoming law, which is expected around July. Councils then have until September to make their Māori ward decisions.
The report supported the polling push for councils wanting to keep or bring in Māori wards for 2025′s local elections.
Councils that decide to remove their Māori wards before then will not have to poll their people over this action.
Te Kahu o Taonui (Northland Iwi Chairs Forum) co-chair Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards said he was disappointed in the select committee supporting the government’s “discriminatory” legislation on Māori wards.
“We are appalled with the belligerent move to exclude the important voice of Māori in local government,” Edwards said.
Far North District Council
Far North District Council (FNDC) Mayor Moko Tepania, who is also Local Government New Zealand’s Northland board member, said the select committee’s report was sad for the councils across Aotearoa which had established Māori wards.
Tepania said the report was also disheartening for the Far North “after we fought so hard to establish the ward”.
Tepania played a key role in Ngā Tai o Tokerau’s introduction for the 2022 local elections.
“And the world has not ended. We have way better engagement and representation in our district,” he said.
FNDC’s Māori ward, Ngā Tai o Tokerau, will remain in place for the 2025 local elections.
His council would be carrying out a poll if the government direction became law, Tepania said.
The Far North stood a good chance of its Māori ward remaining in the face of a poll. This was because 51 per cent of the district were of Māori descent and Māori ward councillors did a great job, he said.
Northland Regional Council
Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) Te Raki Māori constituency will also remain in place for the 2025 local elections.
NRC chair Geoff Crawford this week confirmed his council would be proceeding with its Māori constituency for the 2025 local elections. He said the community needed to have its say when the required poll happened.
Prominent Māori leader and NRC Te Tai Tokerau Māori and Council Working Party co-chair Pita Tipene said the report represented a missed opportunity to respond to “the heartbeat of the people of New Zealand.”
Tipene has previously warned the need for polls could be the death knell for Māori wards.
In 2022 Northland became the first region in New Zealand with Māori wards for all its councils. Nine councillors were elected from these four new wards.
NRC played a key role in New Zealand’s 2021 law change that headed off the community petitions in Northland that would have forced polls on these wards’ establishment to happen.
Whangārei District Council
Whangārei District Council (WDC)’s select committee submission said the bill’s intent could damage relationships with Whangārei hapū.
WDC’s Māori ward had been set up in conjunction with its Māori partnership standing committee and reflected the council’s “continued commitment to enable genuine representation and involvement of Māori in decision making,” it said.
The government should pay towards any required polling.
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said his council’s position on keeping its Whangārei District Māori ward for the 2025 local elections was a matter for WDC to decide on in due course, within required time frames.
He did not want to predetermine what that position would be, nor indicate his personal view on this.
Cocurullo was among five councillors who in 2021 sought to overturn WDC’s decision to bring in a Māori ward.
WDC Whangārei District Māori Ward councillor Deb Harding said she wanted the council to keep the first-time ward for the next local elections.
Kaipara District Council
Meanwhile, Kaipara District Council (KDC) Mayor Craig Jepson wants his council’s Māori ward gone for the next local election, but said that was a decision for his council.
KDC’s Te Moānanuui o Kaipara councillor Pera Paniora said her council was weighted towards those against keeping the ward.
Getting rid of the ward for 2025 would instantly throw KDC into a major representation review debate.
The pending legislation would require councils that can their Māori wards for the 2025 elections to also do a mini representation review - with councils offering up the ward structures and councillor numbers of their previous 2022 election or a pre-2020 version to their voters.
KDC would potentially lose one politician as a result.
However, some KDC politicians wanted to reduce the number of councillors even further, Jepson said.
This was so councillors received more pay, to attract the right people to the sector.
Paniora said the report was discriminatory against having a Māori voice in local government.
She spoke to the select committee and was in support of Waitangi Tribunal Māori wards’ representations.
Paniora said removing KDC’s Māori ward for the 2025 local elections meant it could not be reintroduced until 2031 at the earliest.
She questioned why a poll was not also required for councils removing Māori wards.
Paniora said she did not intend to stand again at the next election, so a potential Te Moananui o Kaipara demise would not affect her personally, in that sense.
But she said it was important Māori wards continued as they offered Māori an unfettered voice they had not had previously.
What next
Meanwhile, Te Tai Tokerau-based Green List MP Hūhana Lyndon said her party absolutely opposed the report and would continue to do so.
Lyndon said she would work with the community towards ensuring Northlanders understood the value of Māori wards, ahead of potential pending polls and representation reviews.
She urged Northland’s 44 local government councillors to maintain the positive steps they had made on Māori wards.
