LGNZ says having such wards is one way for councils to honour the partnership principle committed to in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Those who are enrolled on the Māori electoral roll vote for candidates standing for Māori wards to represent them, LGNZ says.
“The successful Māori ward candidates will become councillors at council. Councillors have a responsibility to represent their communities. Māori ward councillors will have a particular responsibility to represent people of Māori descent and bring forward Māori views and aspirations. However, they also represent the entire community in a region, city or district.”
The former Labour Government abolished the referenda for Māori wards in 2022 as no other types of wards, such as rural wards, went to a vote.
LGNZ president Sam Broughton told RNZ in April that all wards should be treated the same – and the legislation being introduced by the Government was “a complete overreach”.
“This is a coalition Government that prided itself on talking about localism ahead of the election,” he said.
“Councils are more than capable of making these decisions themselves ... and this is a backwards step.”
In February, Broughton told RNZ local decisions should be left up to local councils.
“We made the same case last time this was changed. It’s not that we’re saying there should be Māori wards or that there shouldn’t be Māori wards. We’re just saying when that decision is made by [a] council it shouldn’t be subject to referenda when no other ward or constituency decision needs to go to referenda also.”
He said Māori wards had helped improve indigenous representation on councils.
“Since 2019, when the representation of Māori on local government was about 14%, we’ve now seen that lift to just over 20% at the last election.”
He said claims that Māori wards gave Māori more votes than anyone else were wrong.
Minister of Local Government Simeon Brown said it was a “great day for democracy”. Photo / Mark Mitchell
What is the Government saying about Māori wards?
On July 30, Minister of Local Government Simeon Brown said it was a “great day for democracy” as the bill passed its third reading.
Brown said “divisive changes” were introduced by the previous Labour Government that “denied” local communities the ability to determine whether to establish local Māori wards in their communities.
“They took away the voices of local communities across the country and undermined the principles of democracy,” he said.
In a statement, he said the decision should lie with “the communities themselves, not Wellington”.
“Labour stripped democracy from local government by removing the ability to call for a local referendum on Māori wards, and the Government is restoring voters’ voices,” he said.
What do opposition parties think?
Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori voted against the bill.
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins slammed the bill, saying the coalition Government was “embarrassing” New Zealand.
“Once again Māori are being singled out by this Government for discriminatory treatment.
“This is a Government that is determined to ‘other’ Māori within their own country. They see Māori as a people to be put back in their place.”
Hipkins said the bill was another example of the Government seeking to “divide” Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders, in a way that “we have not seen in this country for a generation”.
Wairarapa-based Labour MP Kieran McAnulty labelled the reversal “utterly shameful”.
As reported by Local Democracy Reporting, McAnulty said the Government was putting local councils in an “impossible situation” having to fund referendums.
LDR said it would cost Masterton District Council $35,000.
“Given the financial struggles facing councils and ratepayers, it’s the last thing they need,” McAnulty said.
Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi also spoke strongly against the bill saying the coalition Government was masking the removal of Māori wards behind the “absolute lie that is democracy in this country”.
“Our people share the same vision of prosperity,” she told LDR.
“Our tupuna Tiopira and Te Rore donated land for [Dargaville’s] roads, Parore for the hospital, the church, the water plant that feeds the town, the racecourse, Kai Iwi lakes – the list goes on.
“The council has not spoken to our people, our marae, our iwi or our hapū. It hasn’t even spoken to the community on whether or not they want to keep it. How is that democratic?”
Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor confirmed to LDR the council would vote on Māori wards before the September 6 deadline.
Most of the council voted in favour of establishing a Māori ward in May 2021 and the region’s first Māori ward councillor said the need to vote on a referendum was frustrating and heartbreaking.
“I am disappointed, I am frustrated, I am over the actions of our coalition Government,” Allanah Burgess (Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu), told LDR.
“Their discriminatory treatment of Māori is leading to further division of Māori and non-Māori communities.
“While a referendum may be seen as a democratic process, it is deeply troubling that Māori are being singled out in this manner.”
Meanwhile, Kāpiti Coast District Council has re-affirmed its decision to establish a Māori ward.
Mayor Janet Holborow said doing so supported the position of the council’s mana whenua partners and will ensure Māori have greater access to decision-making at a local level.
“It also supports the position of Local Government New Zealand who have stated that reversing councils’ ability to decide on Māori wards without polls is an overreach by central government and unfairly singles out Māori voters,” she said.
Iwi leaders upset
On Friday, Ngāpuhi leaders walked out of a meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a protest over coalition Government policies.
