This article was first published by RNZ
Today is the final day for councils to decide whether they will ditch Māori wards or agree to a binding poll on their existence.
A recent law change means 45 councils which established the seats without a referendum must hold one, alongside next year’s local body elections, or get rid of them.
Only Kaipara and Upper Hutt councils have so far voted against having a Māori ward, and the last council left to decide is the Far North, which delayed voting this week because of Kiingi Tuheitia’s tangi.
Among the councils voting this week was Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, which voted on Thursday to retain Māori wards.
Bevan Thompson led a rousing haka after the vote was confirmed, and told RNZ it was a special occasion.
“Even when I was doing the haka I was getting emotional, you know I could feel the wairua of our tipuna who’ve been trying to fight to even to be seen by council. It was a very proud moment,” he said.
He said seeing so many other councils supporting Māori wards had been heartening.
“To see something like this going on around the motu, especially in whole of Heretaunga... I’m elated. My wairua is full now,” he said.
Mayor Alex Walker was also feeling proud. Her council voted in 2023 in favour of introducing Māori wards and that decision had now been reaffirmed.
“It’s a really clear path for a Māori world view to be part of the decision making, part of all the machinations and final votes and decisions,” she said.
But not everyone was on board - some locals who spoke at the meeting were worried about the wards costing too much and increasing divisions between Māori and Pākehā.
“There’s a lot of fear and a lot of misunderstanding. What I’m trying to do is create an environment where we can have people expressing those views and we can learn from each other and come closer together,” Walker said.
Councillor Jerry Greer was one of those opposed.
“We always knew the original vote for a Māori ward in [Central Hawke’s Bay] was a split vote - let’s get that right. So I was voting on what I’d learnt and listened to from our community.
“I think it’s up to the community to decide next year in a referendum one way or another. Quite honestly this has gone on too long and needs to be decided,” he said.
By Alexa Cook of RNZ