Whangārei District Council has chosen to retain Māori wards and hold a referendum at the 2025 local government election.
It has two Māori wards established in the last election, now represented by councillors Phoenix Ruka and Deb Harding.
When Māori wards were discussed, Paul Yovich moved a motion to have Māori wards disestablished and revert to previous representation arrangements for the 2019 local elections.
“Recent law has brought us a very divisive New Zealand through woke liberalism,” he said.
He said he was of Dalmatian descent and they were not respected when they arrived but his ancestors “worked hard to earn that respect”.
Marie Olsen supported the motion due to the stances she had when she was voted in.
Opposition to wards
“When I was elected, I ran for no to co-governance, not to three-waters and no to Māori ward seats. My stand on that has not changed and that’s what I was elected on.”
Councillor Jayne Golightly said she didn’t want to make this decision but had to put her personal agenda aside and supported the motion to disestablish.
“Deb, Phoenix, you are two of the most incredible people and councillors I’ve ever known. You are our colleagues and you are our friends and my decision today is not a personal one at all.”
Ruka was the first councillor to speak against Yovich’s motion.
He started by reminding council members of the purpose and basis of Tiriti o Waitangi.
“Māori initiated Te Tiriti o Waitangi for all settlers to be here today in 1840.”
He continued to say Māori wards were a generational decision and not for him or Harding.
“I couldn’t care much about myself and my wellbeing, it’s for the wellbeing of my tamariki and my mokopuna.”
He cited the representation of Māori since the establishment of Parliament in the late 19th century
“The democratic referendum that you speak of, we know it’s not democratic because that was not the case when Parliament was established in this country.
“We have been disenfranchised since the establishment. We are trying to claw back every sentiment of a voice for Māori that we can. It’s not about race.”
Carol Peters said Whangārei needed to honour the commitment to the treaty.
“As councillor Ruka has said, Māori have probably learnt a lot about us but we as pākehā haven’t learnt a lot about the needs and wishes and kaupapa of Māori.
“We are going into a period, in the next 20 years, where there’s a lot of challenges and we need within our decision-making process Māori in there to learn from them to learn to care for our area in Whangārei.”
She voted against the motion.
‘Let us be brave’
Councillor Nicholas Connop said as a Pākehā he knew “what’s good for Māori is good for all of us”.
“Don’t be led down the garden path of fearmongering lies. Let us be brave kia kaha.
“Let us vote to retain the Māori ward to honour Te Tiriti.”
Councillor Patrick Holmes said Māori wards had enriched the local governance.
“It saddens me that we are sitting in a spilt council.
“We’ve come a long way as a council, but we still have many challenges. It would be a great shame if we voted for this amendment, this motion on the table and moved backwards.”
Mayor Vince Cocurullo wanted the referendum to go ahead so people could have their say.
“Allows our voice to be heard’
The motion to disestablish was shot down, with only four votes to abolish it.
Another motion was put to retain wards.
This is when Harding decided to speak, which she declined to do during the disestablish motion.
She told the council introducing two Māori ward councillors to the table was “one component of positive equitable wellbeing of whānau, hapu, iwi, and tangata tiriti”.
“It allows for our voice to be heard, to feel included and to be seen, and this helps direct action through our decision-making and it helps us to move forward,” she said
Deputy mayor Phil Halse said he used to be against the wards but, since Harding and Ruka joined the council, he had changed his mind and that was why he was changing his position to retain the wards.
“We’ve done some amazing things but this is just the start.
“We need Whangārei to be strong, we need to show the rest of Norhtland we’re up to working together, and show unity and deliver some really good things to Norhtland.”
The motion to retain Māori wards and hold a binding poll in 2025 was carried.