Time for Maori wards has come

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Our columnist today can rest assured he is not misusing the term “some of my best friends are Maori”; it is indeed a common deflection for people who wish to make comments or take positions that could be seen as anti-Maori or racist, and serves to highlight that the person saying it is aware of this.

Let's be clear, opposing Maori wards could just mean you are a political opportunist . . . seriously though, it is a significant shift for our local-body representation system — a purposeful move to ensure tangata whenua have a representative voice at the decision-making table — and many people are challenged by change.

It is notable also that our race relations commissioner didn't argue the case for Maori wards during his tenure as Mayor — although that was because he knew, or assumed, it would not have majority support among the then councillors.

Last year, however, our councillors agreed to introduce Maori wards, without any of the few who expressed some concerns over the move raising a vote in opposition. They are all either keen on the change or ready to give it a go.

Our community showed support for this in that only 722 signatures were submitted for the attempt to overturn the decision and put it to a district-wide vote; a long way short of the required 1625. So the fact Pakeha majorities around the country have consistently voted down council decisions to introduce Maori wards does not apply here.

Today's columnist claims that four of our 13 councillors (30.8 percent; or 28.6 percent if you include the Mayor, a position yet to be held by a Maori person) having some Maori heritage shows that the 53 percent of our population who identify as Maori (2018 Census) are not under-represented. It actually suggests the opposite; and claiming that is hardly a vote of no-confidence in our current councillors, who have shown they see the value in Maori wards.

So, to the claim this will create an “unfair advantage” for Maori. All councillors will continue to be elected by equal-sized (+/- 5 percent) electoral populations, so what is unfair? And what of the “unfair advantage” established by governments past to separate Maori from their land and culture?

The truth is our local democracy is evolving to a system that aligns better with the Treaty our two peoples signed up to in 1840. It is a small but significant change, and we will soon see how it actually plays out. First up, a representation review this year to work out the new ward structure.

• See today's .