Hastings hopes to increase tangata whenua contribution to council

Hastings District Council is considering a plan to increase tangata whenua contribution to council's committees. Photo / File

Hastings District Council is considering a plan to increase tangata whenua contribution to council's committees.

Currently council has four standing committees, Community Development, Finance and Risk, Strategy Planning and Partnerships and Works and Services.

The proposal would put a tangata whenua representative from the Māori Joint Committee onto each of council's four standing committees, who would have full voting rights.

The proposal has been under consideration since 2017, when the Māori Joint Committee began discussing their role after it was decided not to pursue Māori wards.

Around the country, many councils appoint Māori members to committees, with full voting rights, as is the suggestion in Hastings.

Councils also sometimes appoint tangata whenua representation as observers, without full voting rights.

Napier City Council and Hawke's Bay Regional Council both have examples of committees with specific tangata whenua participation.

In Hastings, would be no extra remuneration for the roles, which would remain in place until the 2019 Local Government election, at which time they could be review if required by the new governance team.

The proposal will be discussed at the Hastings District Council meeting on Thursday.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said Māori participation at committee level would bring a broader perspective to discussions at HDC.

"Other councils across New Zealand have introduced similar models and have seen significant benefits resulting in better partnerships with iwi and greater community engagement."