The Far North District Council has voted unanimously to retain its Māori ward and is exploring the legal implications of not conducting a referendum.
Councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira said with the Māori wards, Māori could vote for candidates they wanted to represent them.
Halkyard-Harawira said the vote on retaining or removing the ward was actually asking the question “Are you sure you want to let Māori into this white space?” She said the poll was giving councils the opportunity to keep councils a white space.
“We’re part of this space now and we should have been a long time ago,” she said.
In the Far North 71 per cent of the population under 25 years old were Māori, as pointed out by Rāniera Kaio of Te Rūnanga o Whaingaroa. And 49 per cent of the population in total were Māori.
Given the significantly high proportion of Māori in the Far North, Kaio said Māori had the right for their voices to be represented in decision-making when it impacted their land, lives and futures.
Kaio said in Aotearoa as a whole, one in five people were Māori and one in three under the age of 25 were Māori.
Waikoru Wikaira, a rangatahi from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hokianga said they needed Māori ward councillors to guide them.
Wikaira said they needed Māori voices in local government to ensure the principles of Te Tiriti are adhered to, to ensure tāngata whenua had rights under the principles of Te Tiriti.
“And of course to look after our own who make up the poor statistics in health, education, corrections systems and many more,” Wikaira said.
“We need ouMaori [wards] for this generation, for my generation for our mokopuna generations and for the many generations to come.”
Tāmati Rākena moved to pass an alternative resolution, to reaffirm the wards as previously agreed on May 9, and for the chief executive to explore the legal implications of not holding the binding poll and reporting back by December 2024.
The vote for keeping the Māori ward was unanimous.