Tauranga City Council reinstates iwi representatives with voting rights

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale (left) with the new tangata whenua representatives Rohario Murray, Jacqui Rolleston-Steed and Arthur Flintoff. Photo / Supplied

Three iwi representatives who will sit on Tauranga City Council committees have been welcomed to their roles.

Late last year, elected members voted to reinstate tangata whenua representatives and their voting rights to the council’s three committees.

A pōwhiri was held for Arthur Flintoff, Rohario Murray and Jacqui Rolleston-Steed at Wairoa Marae on Wednesday as part of the council’s tangata whenua committee meeting.

Environmental planner Flintoff will join the city future committee. He is a board member of Ara Rau Tangata and was a Smartgrowth adviser for four years.

Lawyer Rohario Murray was appointed to the audit and risk committee. She was on the council’s strategy, finance and risk committee from February 2021 until May 2024.

Rolleston-Steed joins the city delivery committee. She is the director of the Bay of Plenty Regional Public Service Commission and worked at Bay of Plenty Regional Council for 22 years.

The tangata whenua representatives would be paid $1085 a meeting that included any preparation needed and $542 for a workshop or “approved duties”.

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale: “We will make better decisions for the city.” Photo / Supplied

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the councillors involved in the selection process were impressed with the quality of the candidates.

The skills and knowledge the iwi representatives would bring would be a benefit for Tauranga, he said during Wednesday’s meeting.

“We will make better decisions for the city.”

Drysdale said it was a pleasure to welcome them to the team.

“Thank you for putting your hand up, picking up the tea towel and serving your community.”

The relationships the council was building with Tauranga iwi and hapū were fantastic, he said.

“We want to work with anyone that wants to make our city better. We’re very into working in partnership to achieve our goals.”

The request to reinstate tangata whenua representatives to council committees was made by Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana, a collective that represents the 17 iwi and hapū in Tauranga.

Iwi representatives had been appointed to council committees since 2016 and were given voting rights in 2020.

Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana chairwoman Matire Duncan. Photo / Alisha Evans

At December’s meeting, Te Rangapū chairwoman Matire Duncan said tangata whenua representation was a legal requirement under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Local Government and Resource Management Acts, not preferential treatment.

“It reflects a commitment to shared decision-making and inclusivity, which are vital for our community’s future.”

Last week, Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell came under fire from Duncan for his proposed equal voting rights bill.

Uffindell said the draft bill was intended to stop any move away from the principle of equal suffrage where each person got an equal say in electing people.

Duncan said the bill risked undermining the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

It appeared to be a reaction to councils granting tangata whenua representatives full voting rights on committees, she said.

“This bill misrepresents Māori representation mechanisms as special rights rather than corrective measures to address the ongoing effects of colonisation and ensure meaningful partnership between the Crown and tangata whenua.”

Uffindell said he disagreed with giving voting rights to any unelected members on council committees, whether on “racial lines” or “expertise lines”.

“At a higher level, I believe in equal suffrage and … to be on a local council, you need to be elected to be on that local council.”

The tangata whenua representatives will join their committees from Monday.

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