Top of the south iwi back Māori Ward proposal
Sunday, 9 May 2021
The chairs of Te Tauihu iwi have unanimously thrown their support behind the establishment of Māori Wards across councils at the top of the south.
In a statement put forward by the Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs Forum, iwi representatives have written to the Nelson City Council, Tasman District Council, and Marlborough District Council to express their “explicit desire” to see Māori Wards enacted at all three councils.
The forum stated their position had been motivated in part by the changes made to the Māori Wards Act in March, which removed the mandatory and binding community polls on Māori Ward resolutions from the legislation.
“Te Tauihu Iwi chairs now look to the mayors of Te Tauihu to ensure that iwi Māori appointed representation is able to sit at the council table on equal terms with other councillors.”
**READ MORE:
* 'It's a start' - first steps made to establishing Māori Wards in Matamata-Piako
* 2021: The year of rangatiratanga, Māori sovereignty
* Nixed Māori ward back on the table in Marlborough
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“Whilst the Māori ward system does not deliver a true partnership as envisaged by Te Tiriti, nor deals with racism experienced by our communities, it is a start and an advancement on the status quo. We are therefore strong advocates for such to be implemented sooner rather than later.”
The statement comes in the lead-up to a Nelson City Council meeting on Tuesday, where the issue of setting up a Māori Ward in Nelson is set to be decided.
In September 2020, the council decided against setting up a Māori Ward for the 2022 and 2025 elections.
This was primarily due to the “high level of negative response” from the community in 2011 and 2012, when a public ballot voted down a decision by council to set up a ward in time for the 2013 local government elections.
Under the old rules, any decision to set up a Māori Ward could trigger a public ballot if it was demanded by at least five per cent of electors.
At the meeting in September, Mayor Rachel Reese said she was committed to more Māori participation at the council table, and did not want to support “what is a discriminatory piece of legislation”.
While they did not approve the Māori Ward in September, councillors supported seeking an amendment to the legislation “to ensure the legal requirements to establish a Māori ward are the same as a general ward”.
The Te Tauihu Iwi Chairs Forum comprises iwi chairs from Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Toarangatira, Rangitāne o Wairau and Te Ātiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui.