Northland councils stick with Māori wards despite Government push

Far North District Council's four Māori ward councillors flank Deputy Mayor/Kowhai Kelly Stratford and Mayor/Kahika Moko Tepania (both at centre wearing korowai); Babe Kapa (left), Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, Tāmati Rākena and Penetaui Kleskovic at the council's 2022 pōwhiri at Waitangi. Photo / NZME

Two of Northland’s four councils are holding on to their new Māori wards for next year’s local elections despite likely having to spend thousands polling their communities.

The other two are remaining tight-lipped about their moves on Māori wards.

This comes as the parliamentary justice select committee, which received 10,614 submissions on the Government’s proposed Māori ward law change, released its report on Friday.

Northland councils and Māori leaders were among the many Te Tai Tokerau select committee submitters.

The committee’s report recommended in favour of the Government’s push to reintroduce a Māori wards polling requirement and “all proposed legislative amendments”.

It will next go to Parliament for further debate before becoming law, which is expected around July. Councils then have until September to make their Māori ward decisions.

The report supported the polling push for councils wanting to keep or bring in Māori wards for 2025′s local elections.

Councils that decide to remove their Māori wards before then will not have to poll their people over this action.

Te Kahu o Taonui (Northland Iwi Chairs Forum) co-chairman Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards said he was disappointed in the select committee supporting the Government’s discriminatory legislation on Māori wards.

“We are appalled with the belligerent move to exclude the important voice of Māori in local government,” Edwards said.

Far North District Council

Far North District Council (FNDC) Mayor Moko Tepania, who is also Local Government New Zealand’s Northland board member, said the select committee’s report was sad for the councils across Aotearoa that had established Māori wards.

Tepania said the report was also disheartening for the Far North “after we fought so hard to establish the ward”.

Far North Mayor/Kahika Moko Tepania says the justice select committee's backing for a Māori wards polling requirement is sad for councils that had established Māori wards. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Tepania played a key role in Ngā Tai o Tokerau’s introduction for the 2022 local elections.

“And the world has not ended. We have way better engagement and representation in our district,” he said.

FNDC’s Māori ward Ngā Tai o Tokerau will remain in place for the 2025 local elections.

His council would be carrying out a poll if the Government direction became law, Tepania said.

The Far North stood a good chance of its Māori ward remaining in the face of a poll. This was because 51 per cent of the district are of Māori descent and Māori ward councillors did a great job, he said.

Northland Regional Council

Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) Te Raki Māori constituency will also remain in place for the 2025 local elections.

NRC chairman Geoff Crawford this week confirmed his council would be proceeding with its Māori constituency for the 2025 local elections. He said the community needed to have its say when the required poll happened.

Northland Regional Council chairman Geoff Crawford says the community must have its say when the required poll on Māori wards happened. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Prominent Māori leader and NRC Te Tai Tokerau Māori and Council Working Party co-chairman Pita Tipene said the report represented a missed opportunity to respond to “the heartbeat of the people of New Zealand”.

Tipene has previously warned the requirement for polls could be the death knell for Māori wards.

In 2022 Northland became the first region in New Zealand with Māori wards for all its councils. Nine councillors were elected from these four new wards.

NRC played a key role in New Zealand’s 2021 law change that headed off the community petitions in Northland that would have forced polls on these wards’ establishment to happen.

Whangārei District Council

Whangārei District Council (WDC)’s select committee submission said the bill’s intent could damage relationships with Whangārei hapū.

WDC’s Māori ward had been set up in conjunction with its Māori partnership standing committee and reflected the council’s “continued commitment to enable genuine representation and involvement of Māori in decision making”, it said.

The Government should pay towards any required polling.

Mayor Vince Cocurullo is glad to see strong Northland representation in Parliament. Photo / Tania Whyte

Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said his council’s position on keeping its Whangārei District Māori ward for the 2025 local elections was a matter for WDC to decide on in due course, within required timeframes.

He did not want to predetermine what that position would be, nor indicate his personal view on this.

Cocurullo was among five councillors who in 2021 sought to overturn WDC’s decision.

WDC Māori ward councillor Deb Harding said she wanted the council to keep the first-time ward for the next local elections.

Kaipara District Council

Meanwhile, Kaipara District Council (KDC) Mayor Craig Jepson wants his council’s Māori ward gone for the next local election, but said that was a decision for his council.

KDC’s Te Moānanuui o Kaipara councillor Pera Paniora said her council was weighted towards those who were against keeping the ward.

Getting rid of the ward for 2025 would instantly throw KDC into a major representation review debate.

The pending legislation would require councils that disestablish their Māori wards for the 2025 elections to also do a mini representation review - with councils offering up the ward structures and councillor numbers of their previous 2022 election or a pre-2020 version to their voters.

KDC would potentially lose one politician as a result.

Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson with Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora in Dargaville during Northland's Cyclone Gabrielle response. Photo / Susan Botting

However, some KDC politicians wanted to reduce the number of councillors even further, Jepson said.

This was so councillors received more pay, to attract the right people to the role.

Paniora said the report was discriminatory against having a Māori voice in local government.

She spoke to the select committee and was in support of Waitangi Tribunal’s advocacy for Māori wards representation.

Paniora said removing KDC’s Māori ward for the 2025 local elections meant it could not be reintroduced until 2031 at the earliest.

She questioned why a poll was not also required for councils removing Māori wards.

Paniora said she did not intend to stand again at the next election, so a potential Te Moananui o Kaipara demise would not affect her personally, in that sense.

But she said it was important Māori wards continued as they offered Māori an unfettered voice they had not had previously.

Next steps

Meanwhile, Te Tai Tokerau-based Greens list MP Hūhana Lyndon said her party absolutely opposed the report and would continue to do so.

Lyndon said she would work with the community towards ensuring Northlanders understood the value of Māori wards, ahead of potential pending polls and representation reviews.

She urged Northland’s 44 local government councillors to maintain the positive steps they had made on Māori wards.

• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.