Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora says the council meeting agreeing to the disestablishment of Māori wards in Kaipara District shows a fundamental difference in worldview and clash of cultures.
That was seen in both mayor Craig Jepson’s concluding statement before the vote and those of Māori and members of the public who spoke at the meeting.
“We need to maintain our wonderful democracy and not slide down the path to an ethnostate,” Jepson said.
An ethnostate is a sovereign state where citizenship is restricted to members of a particular racial or ethnic group. Jepson said this day was about “not bowing down before intimidation” by those who support the slippery slope.
False narrative
Jepson said the establishment and need of Māori wards relied on a false narrative.
“That narrative preaches that Māori have no voice, are unfairly disadvantaged, are oppressed, suffer the continual effects of colonisation, systemic racism and victimhood.”
“Those of us who are not blessed with Maori ancestry should feel guilty for past misdeeds of our ancestors. I am classed as a product of white privilege, I guess.”
He said the narrative was false and most ‘Kiwis’ regardless of culture, including Māori, saw this as a false narrative which is why few people vote in the Māori ward or for Te Pāti Māori.
Jepson said he believed the Māori in his district didn’t see themselves as oppressed and knew the narrative was false.
He said Māori knew that if they took responsibility for themselves they would succeed - if they sent their kids to school, took free dental care and doctors’ appointments, and enjoyed the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
Proportional representation
A member of the Kaipara public, Linda Allen, told the council the removal of Māori wards in the name of democracy was a misunderstanding of what democracy means.
Allen said there should be proportional representation.
Across the country only 17 per cent of the population was Māori, which varied from area to area and district to district.
She said in Kaipara close to a third of the population was Māori and rather than abolishing one Māori ward councillor seat, they should establish three Māori ward seats.
Māori seats in Parliament were also partly based on proportional representation.
Jepson said, “I feel it’s condescending to Māori that somehow they are not good enough to be elected without a ward to guarantee this. If you are the best candidate, no matter who your ancestors are, you will be elected and this is well proven in the history of our nation’s local and central government.”
Jepson cited Māori mayors Tania Tapsell, Tory Whanau and Moko Tepania and famous Māori politicians Winston Peters, Shane Jones and David Seymour.
Rural and Māori wards bring new voices to table
Former Kaipara councillor Libby Jones spoke in favour of retaining the Māori ward to ensure Māori voices are represented in local government.
Jones said Māori wards functioned in the same way as rural wards, which were created to bring in the voices of farmers who were underrepresented in local government.
Rural wards gave wider representation and ensured the needs of those in rural areas were met - and the same applied to Māori wards.
Jones argued the decision to disestablish the wards impacted everyone and not just Māori.
“I want to live in a district where I feel proud that we are inclusive, fair and show respect and dignity for others,” she said.
Māori wards about fairness, not equality
Jones said this was a question of fairness, not equality.
“Equality is sameness. Treating everyone the same means that some people will gain more than others due to their previous advantage. Fair is different, fair means everybody gets what they need based on visible gaps in opportunity.”
Many Māori hadn’t had the opportunity to be elected members or be voted in by the majority that is non-Māori, Jones said.
She emphasised that no one wanted to feel treated unfairly and she asked the council to be fair and just and to retain the wards.
She also made the point that disestablishing the ward would cost five times more than retaining it.