Ruapehu district councillors urge community to back Māori ward

Ruapehu district councillor Rabbit Nottage says it has been great having Māori councillors. Photo / NZME

Councillors left no doubt about their feelings at a community meeting in Ohakune on whether to scrap or keep their Ruapehu Māori ward.

“It’s been great having Māori councillors,” David (Rabbit) Nottage told Wednesday night’s meeting.

“Don’t be scared, mate – if you think the world’s going to fall apart because we’re going to keep Māori wards, well you’re on the wrong planet.”

Robyn Gram said the council took a huge step forward by introducing Māori seats.

“You should always leave something better than you found it. Ruapehu district with Māori colleagues contributing and making our place better does just that, it leaves it better.”

The meeting was the first of two called by Ruapehu District Council to canvass views before it makes a formal decision next month on whether to keep or remove its three Māori ward seats.

Under new legislation, councils that established a Māori ward after 2020 without a referendum have until September 6 to either scrap the ward or hold a binding public poll during the 2025 local elections.

Mayor Weston Kirton said the council had been clear about wanting to retain its Māori ward but had not yet made a formal decision.

All six general and three Māori ward councillors appeared at the meeting to advocate for the ward.

“Since our Māori councillors have been around our table, we’ve all learned and experienced so much,” Gram said.

“If the decision is made not to have Māori representation, it will be a huge step back. That’s not what we want for Ruapehu.”

Lyn Neeson said the council had chosen Māori wards and it had worked.

“We’ve made stronger decisions because they are here. We do all come from our own perspective but we listen to each other and we make the decisions collectively.

“As a collective, we want to vote to continue Māori wards. Fifty per cent of our population is Māori. We think it’s unfair there has to be a referendum and it’s binding.”

Janelle Hinch said Māori ward councillors – introduced in 2022 – played a significant role in decision-making, community engagement and overall effectiveness.

“They enrich decisions with cultural insights and historical context specific to our district that as Pākehā we don’t necessarily know.

“It creates a direct and dedicated channel for Māori communication and strengthens the relationship between council and Māori.”

Māori ward councillor Channey Iwikau urged the community to stand with the council to defend Māori seats.

“We need all our people to stand up … all the people of the district. We’re in this together.”

Helen Leahy, pouārahi/chief executive of Nga Waihua o Paerangi, the operational arm of Ngāti Rangi, told the meeting the law change requiring binding referendums was “another case of legislation which is a direct attack on Māori”.

“It’s a retrograde step which represents so much of what has happened over the last 10 months.”

She said the community had already decided a Māori ward would work in the Ruapehu district.

“What we have done in this community by enabling Māori wards is about participation, protection and the notion of partnership.

“It’s about working with [iwi collective] Te Korowai o Wainuiārua, Ngāti Rangi, Ngāti Haua, marae, whānau in a way that means Māori are involved in decision-making.”

Leahy urged the council and community to continue to fight “for what is right”.

Te Korowai o Wainuiārua chair Aiden Gilbert said the district needed to consider “what is right and what is possible” in terms of partnership and working together as a community.

The council will decide whether to keep or disestablish the Māori ward after hearing public submissions at a second meeting in Taumarunui on September 4.

The meeting will be an extended public forum at which community leaders, iwi representatives, resident and ratepayer societies and community board chairs will be invited to present the views of their respective communities.

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