Councillors to vote on giving iwi voting rights on Wellington City Council

Tuesday, 25 August 2020

Wellington City councillor Jill Day is expecting support for her move to introduce iwi representation on the council’s committees. (File photo)

Iwi members will have voting rights on Wellington City Council within a year if a proposal to include them in decision-making is approved by councillors on Wednesday.

Councillors Jill Day and Tamatha Paul have proposed that one member from each of Wellington’s two iwi – Te Āti Awa Taranaki Whānui and Ngāti Toa Rangatira – is appointed to the council’s committees from July.

The mana whenua representatives would be elected by their iwi, be paid, and have full voting rights on all committees except the full council.

Mana whenua members currently have membership on two council committees, but are not paid and do not have voting rights.

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Fellow Māori councillor Tamatha Paul is also behind the move. (File photo)

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Taranaki Whānui set up the Port Nicholson Settlement Block Trust, which sold three of four parcels of land to Shelly Bay Investments in 2017. Some members of the iwi oppose the sale and want it overturned. (File photo)

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Day said the changes were possible under the Local Government Act, which required councils to involve Māori in decision-making, and allowed local authorities to appoint additional members to committees.

Former New Plymouth mayor Andrew Judd comforts councillor Sam Bennett after Bennett’s motion to create a Māori ward was approved by councillors. (File photo)

Councils were not able to appoint additional members to vote at meetings of the full council, which could overturn decisions made by committees.

Day said she and Paul, the sole Māori representatives on the council, were often asked to provide a Māori perspective at council debates, but that was a job that should be given to iwi.

“The majority of things we talk about have an impact on mana whenua. It’s important we get their perspectives directly rather than leaving some of us trying to speak on their behalf.”

Day said the council already sought iwi views on many decisions, so having them at the council table for all decisions made sense.

“Mana whenua will bring knowledge and insight on how we address climate change, delivery of Let’s Get Wellington Moving, and how we make sure decisions about water infrastructure meet the needs of the environment and Wellingtonians for generations to come.”

Paul said mana whenua representatives would provide an intergenerational perspective and an intimate understanding of the region.

Should the motion be passed, a report on the next steps would be presented to the council’s strategy and policy committee in November, with the changes to be implemented by July 1.

Victoria University of Wellington associate professor in Māori studies Dr Maria Bargh said the change would be a “good step forward” in the council recognising its decision-making obligations to mana whenua.

It would also lead to better opportunities, she said.

“Having strong relationships with mana whenua provides opportunities to build more sustainable futures.”

However, similar moves elsewhere in the country to introduce Māori representation on local councils have not been without controversy.

A month ago, New Plymouth District councillors voted to establish a Maori ward in time for the 2022 election, overturning an initial proposal to seek public feedback on the idea.

In 2014, the same decision cost then-mayor Andrew Judd his job, after a community-initiated referendum voted the seat down.

Several councillors are expecting a similar challenge this time round.

Last year, several Hastings District councillors opposed a decision to appoint Māori representatives to the council's four standing committees, citing a lack of public consultation

Bargh said councils had various arrangements to consult with local iwi, but only three had designated Māori seats – with New Plymouth to become the fourth.

The others were Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Wairoa District Council, and Waikato Regional Council.

Wairoa District Council introduced a Māori ward with three members following a close public vote in 2016.

However, Day said she expected wide support for the move among councillors.

On Tuesday the Tauranga City Council voted to e stablish Maori Ward for the 2022 local government election.