With varying types of complaint, the others confirmed earlier commitments to separate voting arrangements for Maori roll voters.
It means that 42 councils are required to formally ask ALL their constituents next October whether or not they support race-based voting at council level.
These polls must be held during next year’s local elections are held, while candidates campaign for Maori roll seats both of which may end up with an extremely uncomfortable “unwanted” tag.
The exception is Tauranga, which filled a Maori ward in elections held in July imposed by commissioners who had run the council since 2021, around the time that binding citizen-initiated referenda on the issue were outlawed.
Tauranga’s referendum comes in 2028 because they don’t have a local election next year. And that outcome would take effect in 2031.
Hawke’s Bay regional councillors faced a national backlash for doing a haka with Mongrel Mob members in the council chambers after a vote in favour of continuing with the Maori ward.
After the vote council chair, Hinewai Ormsby said “the decision to retain the constituencies was a significant step towards ensuring Maori representation and participation in the region’s decision-making”.
She did not say that before the 11-member council gained two Maori roll councillors, it had 10 iwi reps who vote on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee, 12 Maori social service reps on the Maori Committee, three Maori partnership group members, and a hapu advisory officer.
Councils throughout New Zealand would have a similar level of Maori involvement going back decades, which means “Maori” have had a voice at the council table for a long time.
Palmerston North City, South Taranaki, Gisborne, and Ruapehu District councils said they would not conduct a poll.
But the new legislation requires them to hold referenda, according to Local Government Minister Simeon Brown.
Buck-passing consultations, heavily stacked by pro-Maori-ward activists, were held by some councils during the July 31 to September 6 decision-making period.
For instance, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise had to be reminded that her claimed 54 percent “majority” of 1314 submissions was not a majority of the city’s 47,809 voters.
Complaints about the cost of referenda were frequent, although such complaining councillors don’t seem to find cost a consideration when campaigning for pet projects.
Within days of the decision deadline, some councils dressed up the need to hold a referendum while they kept their Maori wards as a decision for a referendum.
Critics of Maori wards are quickly called racist by proponents who unthinkingly cite “the treaty” and “giving Maori a voice”.
However, Western Bay of Plenty councillor Allan Sole, who is of Māori descent, said that “these wards are not needed. They don’t bring mana to our Māori; they are like a handout.”
Without a doubt, those councils that rushed in to extend Maori seats into local government while knowing that many of their constituents opposed the move were upset when told to drop them or hold a referendum.
In May, 52 mayors and chairpersons signed a letter to the Prime Minister, Ministers and party leaders opposing the proposed changes.
One thing that is quite clear, while councillors are focussing on Maori wards, they are not focussing on something else.
Meteoric rates increases, growing council debt, and ageing infrastructure, indicate problems within local councils of which the focus on Maori wards is a part.
How many Maori wards will survive the coming referenda? How many councillors are ready to campaign while this contentious issue is being debated? We will find out next year.
How the councils decided are detailed in the tables below, with the exception of the Waikato and Kapiti district councils, the results for which were awaited.
Group 1 lists those councils that established Maori wards for the 2022 local election and currently have them up and running, and could have chosen to disestablish those Maori wards.
Group 2 lists those councils that have decided to establish Maori wards for the 2025 local election, and could have chosen to rescind those decisions.
The letter P after the respective council names means that have chosen to proceed either with the established or planned Maori ward, R means rescind, and D means disestablish.
The exception is Tauranga, which filled a Maori ward in elections held in July imposed by commissioners who had run the council since 2021, around the time that binding citizen-initiated referenda on the issue were outlawed.
Tauranga’s referendum comes in 2028 because they don’t have a local election next year. And that outcome would take effect in 2031.
Hawke’s Bay regional councillors faced a national backlash for doing a haka with Mongrel Mob members in the council chambers after a vote in favour of continuing with the Maori ward.
After the vote council chair, Hinewai Ormsby said “the decision to retain the constituencies was a significant step towards ensuring Maori representation and participation in the region’s decision-making”.
She did not say that before the 11-member council gained two Maori roll councillors, it had 10 iwi reps who vote on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Planning Committee, 12 Maori social service reps on the Maori Committee, three Maori partnership group members, and a hapu advisory officer.
Councils throughout New Zealand would have a similar level of Maori involvement going back decades, which means “Maori” have had a voice at the council table for a long time.
Palmerston North City, South Taranaki, Gisborne, and Ruapehu District councils said they would not conduct a poll.
But the new legislation requires them to hold referenda, according to Local Government Minister Simeon Brown.
Buck-passing consultations, heavily stacked by pro-Maori-ward activists, were held by some councils during the July 31 to September 6 decision-making period.
For instance, Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise had to be reminded that her claimed 54 percent “majority” of 1314 submissions was not a majority of the city’s 47,809 voters.
Complaints about the cost of referenda were frequent, although such complaining councillors don’t seem to find cost a consideration when campaigning for pet projects.
Within days of the decision deadline, some councils dressed up the need to hold a referendum while they kept their Maori wards as a decision for a referendum.
Critics of Maori wards are quickly called racist by proponents who unthinkingly cite “the treaty” and “giving Maori a voice”.
However, Western Bay of Plenty councillor Allan Sole, who is of Māori descent, said that “these wards are not needed. They don’t bring mana to our Māori; they are like a handout.”
Without a doubt, those councils that rushed in to extend Maori seats into local government while knowing that many of their constituents opposed the move were upset when told to drop them or hold a referendum.
In May, 52 mayors and chairpersons signed a letter to the Prime Minister, Ministers and party leaders opposing the proposed changes.
One thing that is quite clear, while councillors are focussing on Maori wards, they are not focussing on something else.
Meteoric rates increases, growing council debt, and ageing infrastructure, indicate problems within local councils of which the focus on Maori wards is a part.
How many Maori wards will survive the coming referenda? How many councillors are ready to campaign while this contentious issue is being debated? We will find out next year.
How the councils decided are detailed in the tables below, with the exception of the Waikato and Kapiti district councils, the results for which were awaited.
Group 1 lists those councils that established Maori wards for the 2022 local election and currently have them up and running, and could have chosen to disestablish those Maori wards.
Group 2 lists those councils that have decided to establish Maori wards for the 2025 local election, and could have chosen to rescind those decisions.
The letter P after the respective council names means that have chosen to proceed either with the established or planned Maori ward, R means rescind, and D means disestablish.
Group 1
Far North District Council - P
Gisborne District Council P
Hamilton City Council P
Hastings District Council P
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council P
Horowhenua District Council P
Kaipara District Council D
Manawatu District Council P
Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council P (Horizons)
Marlborough District Council P
Masterton District Council P
Matamata-Piako District Council P
Nelson City Council P
New Plymouth District Council P
Northland Regional Council P
Ōtorohanga District Council P
Palmerston North City Council P
Porirua City Council P
Rangitikei District Council P
Rotorua District Council P
Ruapehu District Council P
South Taranaki District Council P
Stratford District Council P
Taranaki Regional Council P
Tararua District Council P
Taupo District Council P
Tauranga City Council
Waikato District Council
Waipa District Council P
Wellington City Council P
Whakatane District Council P
Whangarei District Council P
Group 2
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council P
Hauraki District Council P
Hutt City Council P
Kapiti Coast District Council
Kawerau District Council P
Napier City Council P
South Wairarapa District Council P
Tasman District Council -P
Thames-Coromandel DC P
Upper Hutt City Council R
Wellington Regional Council P
Western B of P District Council P
Whanganui District Council P
4 comments:
Would it be " fair to state" - that when the Local Voters in each Council Region and/or working Domain start to realize what their local, duly elected Council representatives have done (behind closed doors?) - that many of those who a current Councilors, may not and/or will not be re-elected.
In Palmerston North " the knives are being selected, sharpened for the next Local Body election" and it is not only the Mayor who is the target, but many of the sitting Council, for another matter, the "process of confirming Maori Wards" is the second, that many will not return to The Council Chamber.
Methinks the Minister should expedite the process other wise there will be all sorts of skullduggery ahead.
The public will be very confused by the Councillor votes and not realise that these under duress of Cancellation. And msm does not publicise the disruption and time wasting (paid) consultation, prjects, expensive favouritism of maori contractors etc associated mana seeking maori ward councillors.
Yes we can see this so why does the coalition keep dragging the chain on this?
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