Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Māori ward local bill law change bid to face MPs' votes

Felix Desmarais
By Felix Desmarais
Local Democracy Reporter ·Rotorua Daily Post·
5 Apr, 2022 11:44 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Rotorua Lakes Council building. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua Lakes Council building. Photo / Andrew Warner

LDR_STRAP

A bill that could enable an equal number of Māori ward and general ward seats in Rotorua's council if passed into law will encounter its first significant hurdle today – its first reading in Parliament.

The Rotorua District Council (Representation Arrangements) Bill was drafted by the council to enable the model, which is currently unlawful under the Local Electoral Act.

The Local Electoral Act has formula that limits the number of Māori ward seats based on population sizes.

The bill seeks an exemption for the Rotorua district from that rule.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Rotorua-based Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey is the bill's sponsor.

Parliament's order paper for today states allowance for two 10-minute speeches and nine five-minute speeches on the bill. The debate is expected to begin at about 2pm and can be viewed on-demand on the Parliament website or on Parliament TV.

The bill's sponsor, Rotorua-based Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey. Photo / Andrew Warner
The bill's sponsor, Rotorua-based Labour list MP Tāmati Coffey. Photo / Andrew Warner

After the debate Parliament will decide if the bill will progress and be referred to a select committee.

If it reaches the select committee stage, the bill will be subject to public submissions.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

If the bill does not pass before June 1, it will not apply to the 2022 local election and the council will have to proceed with its interim model.

That model had one Māori ward seat, one general ward seat and eight at-large seats, but may change as it is currently being considered by the Local Government Commission, which can overturn the council's decision.

Local Democracy Reporting is public interest journalism funded by NZ On Air

Discover more

Kahu

Explainer: Why one council is trying to change electoral law

31 Mar 11:18 PM

Council being asked to do more with less - finance boss

31 Mar 05:00 AM
Kahu

'Out of thin air': Appellants take council to task on Māori ward structure

25 Mar 03:26 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Sport

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

Rugby showdown: Local teams gear up for Baywide semis

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Whakarewarewa dominated Te Puna with a 57-10 win in Rotorua.

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

Rain train: Weather watches keep rolling in for Bay of Plenty

09 Jul 01:32 AM
'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

'Ecstatic' reunion: Cat found after year-long disappearance

09 Jul 12:00 AM
'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

'Horrible': Memorial for deaf, blind man killed in alleged hit-and-run is destroyed

08 Jul 10:50 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP