Greater Wellington councillors unanimously affirmed the resolution made in October 2023 to establish a Māori constituency for local elections in 2025 and 2028.
The resolution in 2023 had unanimous support from both councilors and six mana whenua groups in the Wellington region.
Council chair Daran Ponter said the decision puts Greater Wellington Regional Council “on the right side of history”.
“For our journey to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Wellington region elected leaders with the wisdom to establish a Māori constituency,” Ponter said.
“In the best interests of our communities, we continue to support Māori aspirations for seats at the council table.”
Greater Wellington’s Te Tiriti o Waitangi komiti chair Hikitia Ropata says the council disagrees with the need for a poll. The council affirmed this and said the ward had already been democratically agreed to.
“Māori have always been underrepresented in local decision-making. Bringing back polls reinstates a longstanding barrier to Māori representation and inclusive democracy,” Ropata said.
Councillors said the government had taken an ‘unfortunate approach’ with the law change, which requires a poll to determine the continuation of Māori constituencies for the 2028 and 2031 local elections.
The council said the approach overrode the council’s democracy and added significant costs for taxpayers.
The council’s electoral officer estimated the poll, to be held at the 2025 election, would cost $350,000 (GST exclusive), which is the equivalent of about 0.07% of council expenditure in the 2022/23 financial year.
“Let’s rise above the rhetoric of fear and division and give Māori a voice in regional governance for years to come,” Ropata said.
“We stand beside mana whenua and Māori knowing the potential for harmful race-based commentary in the run-up to the election.”
The council said it had not received a formal objection to a Māori constituency from the public at the time the decision was made.
The proposed name for the ward was “Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui Māori constituency”.
The council has adopted the name in the initial representation proposal for the 2025 local elections.
