Auckland councillor's call for senior Māori Mayoral advisor not good for all candidates

Auckland Councillor Angela Dalton. Photo / NZME

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The next Auckland Mayor "desperately needs a senior Māori advisor" to help navigate and implement co-governance and embed Te Tiriti of Waitangi.

Auckland councillor Angela Dalton said whoever takes over from Phil Goff in October will need someone who is politically savvy while being community astute as well as up-to-play on all matters Māori across Tamaki Makaurau.

Dalton, who is also seeking re-election to the Manurewa-Papakura Ward, said that person needs to be in the inner sanctum in the Mayor's office and aware if not part of all major strategic decisions for Māori.

"My thoughts on a Māori advisor to be based in the Mayor's office stems from my experience of the direction coming from the mayor's office at times versus the views of mana whenua, Independent Māori Statutory Board, the Mana Whenua Forum and Matawaaka," Dalton said.

Chair of the Auckland Council Independent Maori Statutory Board David Taipari. Photo /NZME

"It can create a lot of rework and also doesn't help relationships if the right advice is not available at the right time.

"Auckland Council is committed to working in partnership with tangata whenua but it would seem that various parts of Council are not entirely clear on what that means – so a clear direction from the Mayoral office with a commitment to having appropriate advice from an advisor or even a team of advisors who would need to be agreed on with mana whenua."

The fact that there are 18 Iwi across Tamaki - plus urban Māori representation required - does not make this any easier but a "no brainer from my perspective," Dalton said.

"Council are getting better in developing strategy alongside mana whenua. A good recent example is the Water Strategy which IMSB member Karen Wilson said was one of the best processes she had been involved in, in terms of working in partnership with mana whenua. We are seeing similar on the development of the Transport Emissions Reduction Plan. We have some amazing people working at Council who are 100 per cent committed to upholding Te Tiriti. I am also happy with the appointment of Herewini Te Koha to the role of Tumuaki Huanga Maori and that the CEO made it an executive role reporting directly to him. Herewini is focussed on systemic change at Council to ensure we understand and deliver on our responsibilities to Māori."

One candidate who did not take to Dalton's views was Craig Lord - well, his Facebook followers anyway.

"Craig Lord's Facebook page is essentially the feedback I had. I find that with this issue people hunt in packs and individuals that I know are unlikely to tell me what they really think. I also make sure I don't trawl social media for feedback, I happened to be tagged in on that particular feed and couldn't believe what I was reading.

"My position is this, I take my responsibilities as Tangata Tiriti seriously and will use my position of privilege to remove any barriers that I can to uphold those responsibilities."